A Grim Apprenticeship
by frogman
Summary: When Grim is sick in bed, he sends Billy and Mandy out to become reapers for a day. But he soon regrets his decision when he finds himself being replaced by his young apprentices. This story is FINISHED.
1. Sick Day for the Reaper

**I HAVE RETURNED! (unfortunately) **

**Well, here's my next submission. I got the idea for this story from the episode Grim for a Day, which is the same episode that inspired me to write my first story. Even though Billy was the only one who became a reaper in that episode, the opening credits showed both Billy and Mandy dressed as Grim reapers. I know the concept of those two becoming reapers doesn't sound very original, but as far as I know there aren't any episodes or fan fictions based on that idea. This story will also have lots of HOT BILLY AND MANDY ACTION! Not really, but this one does revolve more around Billy and Mandy, as opposed to my last story, where Billy was with Grim most of the time and Mandy was by herself. Once again, reviews would be great, whether they're good or bad. Hope you enjoy the first chapter. **

_Disclaimer time: I do not own The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy._

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 1: Sick Day for the Reaper

Rays of light shown through the window as the morning sun slowly began to rise. Billy's room was lit up with sunlight, and a loud burp could heard coming from the rooster that stood on top of the roof, greeting the new morning. Billy had apparently woken up already as he wasn't in his room.

A loud groan came from underneath a mound of blankets in the middle of Billy's bed. It was the Grim Reaper, who was apparently sick. Most of his body was covered with blankets and he only lifted his head above the covers when he needed to cough or sneeze. Every time he sneezed a strange purple slime oozed out of his nose and eye sockets. When the door flung open and his 'friends', Billy and Mandy walked in, Grim lifted the blankets over his head and groaned in pain again.

"Wake up, Sleepyhead!" Billy yelled as he poked Grim's skull, which was all that was visible above the blankets.

"I don't feel well, Billy. Leave me alone." Grim mumbled from below the bed covers.

"I'm not falling for that crud." Said Mandy as she walked over to Grim, "Alright Bonehead, the dishes are piling up and my room isn't going to clean itself, so get to work." She grabbed one end of the blanket and ripped it off Grim's bony body.

Billy gasped and even Mandy's eyes widened as they looked at Grim's bones, which were cracked and colored yellow. Grim curled up in a ball and shivered uncontrollably.

"What happened to you?" Mandy asked blankly. She really didn't seem to care.

Grim didn't answer, he just sneezed instead, spreading purple ooze all over the bed.

"Awww, Grim doesn't feel good. Don't worry, I got some medicine for you, Grim!" Billy said as he picked up a glass of water.

Billy put the glass under one of his nostrils and shot all the snot he could into the water. Billy's brain came out of his nose by accident, but he quickly snorted it back up. He took his finger and mixed the snot and water together until it became a thick green liquid.

"Here ya go, pal!" Billy said with a smile as he extended the 'medicine' towards him.

"Get that out of my face!" Grim shouted while he pushed Billy's hand out of the way, spilling some of the mixture.

"Maybe Grim would like to try one of my remedies." Mandy said coldly, picking up a sledge hammer.

Grim let out a high-pitched scream and looked frantically from Billy (who was still smiling) to Mandy (who was slowly walking towards him). Grim snatched the glass of sludge from Billy's hand and quickly gulped it down. Tears welled up in his eye sockets and the green liquid dripped out his mouth. When Grim finished drinking he dropped the glass and started to vomit profusely, hitting the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Grim groaned again as he wiped off his mouth, "Crusty yellow bones, projectile vomiting, purple slim dripping out of my face: they're all the symptoms of the Underworld flu." He said as he lay back in bed.

"Well, I can't let you inside my house if you're going to get slime everywhere. I'll give you a break, just this once." Mandy said as she lowered the sledge hammer she was holding (where did she get that thing anyway?).

"Yeah, nobody wants to be around a disgusting freak with slime dripping out of his nose all the time!" Billy added as he stuck his finger up his nostril. Mandy just glared at him.

As Grim lay in bed he noticed a calendar on the wall right next to him. Grim's eyes opened wide and he sat up suddenly.

"TODAY'S JUNE 6TH, 2006!" Grim screamed in dismay.

"What's so great about that?" Mandy asked.

"It's '666', the best day for reaping! I can't be sick today, these things only happen once every century!" Grim quickly explained. In a state of panic, he tried to get out of bed, but a loud cracking noise came from his spine and he fell back down again. "If only there was some creepy little psychopath and her idiot friend who could take my place and be reapers for a day…" He said as he winced in pain.

Grim turned over and looked at Billy and Mandy, who stared back at him. Despite his sickness, an evil grin appeared on Grim's face and he picked up his scythe.

Billy looked excited, but Mandy wore a frown, "Don't even think about it…" She warned.

Before Mandy could say anything else Grim swung his scythe in their direction as he sneezed. A dark shadow appeared and surrounded her and Billy. It wrapped around them, forming reaper's robes for each of them.

"Thanks a lot, Grim…" Mandy said sarcastically as she wiped the purple slime from Grim's sneeze off her robe.

"Yeah, thanks Grim!" Billy shouted as he shoved some of the slime into his pocket, saving it for later.

"Now it's time for your scythes." Grim said in a low voice.

Grim lifted up his own scythe and gazed sadly at it. He brought it up to his face and gently kissed the blade, then he held it up in the air with both hands and started to bend it. Instead of breaking in half, the scythe split into two small identical scythes, which Grim handed to the two reapers. Then he took out a piece of paper, which had a long list of names on it.

"Now, this is very important. On this paper are the names of everyone you have to reap today. Irwin's mother is first on the list because she's thousands of years overdue to be reaped. With your new scythes you now posses all the powers of the Grim Reaper. Remember, with great power comes great…." Grim stopped suddenly, "Oh, who cares, just get out of here." He said in a less serious tone.

Grim extended the list towards Mandy, but Billy grabbed it instead and ran towards the door.

"Come on, Mandy!" He shouted, just before he ran headfirst into the wall.

"See you later, Grim." Mandy said in her usual monotone voice.

Mandy took the reaper list out of Billy outstretched hand as she walked towards the door. Before she left the room she grabbed Billy's robe and pulled him off the wall. There was a series of loud thuds as she dragged him down the stairs.

Grim coughed violently and settled back in bed. He had a bad feeling that he had just made a disastrous mistake. He pulled Billy's pillow over his head and tried not to think about it.

* * *

Billy and Mandy looked like crazed trick-or-treaters as they walked towards Irwin's house.

"Isn't this great, Mandy?" Billy asked excitedly, "Me and you get to do Grim's job for a whole day!"

Mandy scowled, "Listen, Billy. If you mess this up, I swear by all that is unholy I'll disembowel you and hang you from a tree."

Billy's expression changed for a moment , then returned to his idiotic smile, "Wow Mandy, that's the nicest thing you've said to me all week!"

They approached Irwin's front door, which was conveniently unlocked. They made sure to be as quit as possible while they stepped inside.

"HI IRWIN!" Billy screamed at the top of his lungs, even though Irwin was nowhere to be seen.

Mandy covered her face and shook her head. It didn't appear that anyone had heard Billy though, so Mandy relaxed.

"Billy, go down to the basement and get Irwin's mom." Mandy ordered as she pointed to the basement door in front of them.

"Why do I have to go down there?" Billy whined.

"Because I said so. Now move it!" Mandy said in a louder voice. She wasn't going to argue with Billy.

"Awww, it's okay, Mandy. You don't have to hide it, I know you're afraid of mummies." Billy said mockingly.

Mandy gritted her teeth as she grabbed Billy by the hood of his robe and threw him down into the basement. Billy hit every stair on the way down and his giant nose was the only thing that cushioned his fall when he hit the dusty floor.

Billy got up slowly from the ground and dusted himself off. The dark room around him was designed like an old Egyptian tomb. Billy left his scythe on the ground and ran over to look at the walls of the basement, which were decorated with hieroglyphics.

An angry, nerdy-sounding voice appeared, "Excuse me Billy, but my wife and I are trying to have a romantic breakfast." The voice belonged to Irwin's dad, who was similar to his son in both looks and personality.

Sitting next to him was Irwin's mom, who actually was a mummy. They both sat at a long table covered with plates of food. The flickering light from the candles in the middle of the table was all that lit up the dark tomb.

Billy walked over to the table and pointed towards one of the plates of food, "Are those waffles?" He asked excitedly while he lifted his nose on top of the table and sniffed the waffles.

"Dude…do you mind?" Said Irwin's dad, already annoyed.

"Waffles!" Billy shouted, ignoring Irwin's parents.

"Dude…"

"Waffles!"

"Dude!"

"WAFFLES!"

"DUDE!"

"Waffles…" Billy said in a lower voice, rubbing the syrupy waffles all over his face.

Finally, Irwin's mom stood up and grunted angrily, revealing her rotten yellow teeth. She started to limp towards Billy with both arms stretched out in front of her. Billy dropped the waffles and slowly walked backwards, than he turned and ran towards the stairs, almost forgetting to grab his scythe on the way. He raced up the stairs and crashed into the living room, where Mandy was still standing.

Mandy looked at the syrup and butter that was dripping from Billy nose and face, "So, what happened?" She asked.

"They wouldn't let me have any waffles…" Billy said, lowering his head in disappointment.

Mandy raised her eyebrow as she stared at Billy. She was wasn't even going to ask.

Mandy started to walk towards the front door, "We better get out of here before-"

Mandy was interrupted by a familiar voice, "Mandy! Oh man, Mandy is in my house yo!" The voice belonged to Irwin of course, "Come on, Mandy! I have to show you something!" Irwin said as he grabbed Mandy's sleeve before she had time to react.

Irwin someone managed to pull Mandy all the way to his bedroom door, where he then pushed her inside his room. Billy followed close behind them. A look of wide-eyed shocked appeared on Mandy's face as she looked around Irwin's room. Even Billy looked a little freaked out when he stepped inside the room. Framed photos of Mandy covered almost every inch of the walls. There were even some paintings of Mandy nailed to the wall, painted by Irwin himself. The entire room was colored in a pink glow because of a nightlight on the wall that had a pink light bulb in it. Mandy continued to stare in shocked silence, until she saw what looked like one of her pink skirts nailed to the wall. Mandy's expression returned to its normal angry look; she clenched her fists and opened her mouth to speak.

Irwin quickly stepped up next to her and put his hand over her mouth, "Shhh…don't talk, it will spoil the moment." Irwin whispered softly. Mandy bit down hard on Irwin's fingers, making him jump back in pain.

"I can't believe this. Come on, Billy. We're outta here." She said in an angry voice. She walked towards the door, smacking Billy (who looked hypnotized) on the way.

"Wait up, guys! I can be in your club, too!" Irwin shouted pathetically. He jumped into his closet and came out seconds later in a hooded pink sweatshirt, "How do you like _my _reaper cloak, Mandy?" He asked after he jumped in front of the door.

A part of Mandy actually felt a little sorry for Irwin, but that didn't stop her from pulling the pink hood over his eyes and kicking him in the shin. The two reapers walked down the stairs and out of the house while Irwin struggled on the floor.

Irwin's voice could still be heard from outside, "But I haven't even shown you my Mandy shrine, yo!"

* * *

"Well, that was a waste of time. Let's go set your dad's hair on fire again." Mandy said as they walked down the street. She was about to go in the direction of Billy's house, but Billy stopped her.

"But Mandy, we can't give up now! What about the reaper list?" Billy asked.

"Forget about that stupid list, all this reaper stuff is getting boring anyway." Mandy said as she continued to walk. She was already tired of being a Grim Reaper.

"What would Grim think?" Billy asked in a sad, weak voice.

Mandy looked over at Billy, who had giant tears in his eyes. His bottom lip was quivering.

Mandy covered her eyes with her hand, then gave a frustrated sigh, "Fine…. we'll go reap the next person on the list." She said in a low voice.

"YAAAAYYYYY!" Billy exclaimed as he skipped down the sidewalk.

"This is going to be a long day…." Mandy said to herself as she reluctantly followed Billy.

**REVENGE OF THE REALLY LONG AUTHOR'S NOTES! **

**There ya go, that's the first chapter. Hopefully this one is shorter than the chapters in my previous story. I want to make the chapters shorter this time around so they areeasier to read. That doesn't mean that the story will be shorter, it just means that there might be 9-10 medium sized chapters instead of 5 really long ones. I'm not really sure how this story will turn out. I'm writing each chapter one at a time, so I'm sort of clueless as to what will happen next. I have a bad feeling that parts of this story are going to seem random, especially since a large part of story involves Billy and Mandy just going from house to house looking for souls to reap. Then again, I had the same feeling about Mandy's Addiction, and that story wasn't nearly as random as I thought it was going to be (believe it or not). I guess I'll just work on the plot one chapter at a time and not worry about later chapters (in case you want to know, I'm just thinking out loud right now, because I doubt anyone is still reading this). Anyways, hopefully I can get the next chapter out soon, reviews would be great, and thanks for reading.**


	2. More Misadventures

**Time for chapter two! Sorry it took me a long time to submit this, I had some family visiting all the way from California so I didn't really have any time to write or type anything. Anyways, I hope you like the second chapter.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 2: More Misadventures

(I couldn't think of a good chapter title)

Mandy pulled the reaper list from her robe and unfolded it. Black letters began to magically appear below Irwin's mom's name. Mandy brought the list closer to read the name of their next victim.

"We have to reap Pud'n next. This should be interesting." Mandy said as she tucked the list back into her robe.

"I'm not going in that guy's house, it smells like cauliflower in there!" Billy retorted.

"I thought you loved cauliflower, you ate fifty pounds of it last week." Mandy couldn't believe she was bringing that up again.

"For your information, that was broccoli dipped in tooth paste." Billy said in a snotty voice.

"Whatever. Let's just go to Pud'n's house." Mandy was actually looking to reaping Pud'n.

In a matter of minutes the two reapers were standing in front of Pud'n's house, which had pink shingles and was surrounded by colorful flowers. The door swung open seconds after Billy tapped on it with his scythe.

Pud'n's mom was the one who had opened the door. She wore a yellow dress, yellow shoes, and had yellow earrings on. Her hair was tied in a bun and she large amount of makeup on her face. She looked very neat and organized, but she also seemed like a very nervous woman. Her eyes twitched uncontrollably, much like Billy's mom.

"Hello, can I help you two children?" She asked nervously as her eyes twitched again.

"We're here to take your son's soul!" Billy shouted happily, raising his scythe in the air.

Pud'n's mom shrieked in terror when she saw the blade of the scythe and she fainted, falling backwards onto the floor. Billy and Mandy stared at her unconscious body for moment, then they stepped inside the house. Mandy walked right on top of Pud'n's mom, not even trying to step around her. She stepped on her face before she jumped onto the carpet leading down the hallway. Billy followed right behind Mandy, but stopped suddenly as he stood on Pud'n's mom's face.

"How rude of me, I forgot to wipe my shoes off." He said, noticing the mud that stuck to his shoes. Billy started to wipe his shoes off on the woman's face as if she were a doormat. He jumped down to the floor and giggled hysterically, leaving her covered in mud.

As they walked into the living room they saw Pud'n, who was surrounded with toys and dolls (most of them had teeth marks in them). Pud'n appeared to be choking. He rolled on the floor, coughing constantly.

"What's wrong with Pud'n?" Billy asked worriedly.

Mandy pulled the list out again, "It says here that he's choking on a light bulb." She answered with little emotion in her voice.

Mandy raised her scythe above Pud'n's head, "Well, no sense in wasting any more time." She said as she brought the blade closer.

"Awww, look how cute he is…" Billy said as he looked at Pud'n, whose faced had just turned blue. Pud'n gagged loudly and his eyeballs started to bulge out of his head.

"I don't care how cute he looks as long as I get to decapitate him." Mandy replied cruelly, her scythe blade already pressing on Pud'n's throat.

"No, Mandy! We can't reap Pud'n, he's my rarely-ever-seen best friend!" Billy pleaded.

Mandy looked up at Billy's sad face, "That's not going to work this time, Billy." She said sternly. Billy continued to look sad and pathetic until Mandy sighed angrily, "Okay, we won't reap Pud'n." She slowly pulled the scythe away from the small choking boy.

"Thanks, Mandy!" Billy yelled as he ran over to Mandy and hugged her.

Mandy shoved him into a wall and pointed her scythe at him, "I'll put this scythe to good use if you ever do that again, understand?" She warned.

Billy nodded vigorously, "Yeahyeahyeahyeah!" He was too happy to listen to Mandy's threats at that moment.

They left Pud'n choking on the floor as they walked out of the living room.

"Bye, Pud'n!" Billy shouted backed as Pud'n writhed on the floor.

Pud'n's mom still lay unconscious and covered in mud in front of the door. Billy and Mandy walked over her again and left the house, another reaping assignment failed.

* * *

Pud'n's house faded off into the distance as the reapers continued their journey through the neighborhood. 

"Can I see the list, Mandy! Puh-leeease…." Billy asked anxiously. He didn't appear to be discouraged by the first two incidents.

"Why should I give it to you?" Mandy asked bitterly, tightening her grip on the piece of paper.

Billy started to reply, "Because…" Before he finished speaking he lunged at Mandy and ripped the list from her hands.

Billy giggled idiotically as he pressed the list against his face to try to get a better look at it.

"You can keep it. I never wanted it anyway." Mandy said casually.

Billy stared at the paper, tilting his head from side to side every few seconds. He turned the list upside down, trying to make sense of it.

"What does it say, Sherlock?" Mandy asked impatiently.

Billy stammered, "Uhhh….it says that we have to reap someone named 'Mimi'." He squinted his eyes, "Her house is…wait for it…" Billy took a few steps down the sidewalk, "Wait for it…." He took a few more steps, "Right here!" He exclaimed, pointing to the rundown old house in front of him.

The grass in the front yard of the house hadn't been cut in years and was almost as tall as Billy and Mandy. The lawn was infested with insects, and perhaps something even larger. They pushed through the tall weeds, barely able to see the stone path beneath their feet. Billy shuddered when he saw a pair of creepy lawn gnomes hidden in the foliage, but he kept pushing through towards the doorstep.

Billy rang the doorbell with his scythe, but Mandy kicked the door open before anyone had a chance to open it. The inside of the house wasn't in as bad condition as the outside of the house, but it was filled with a horrible smell. The living room of the house looked a lot like Irwin's room because it was also decorated with dozens of pictures and paintings. The portraits all featured a small pink poodle with bulging yellow eyes. There were even some small statues dedicated to the poodle surrounding the fireplace.

"It smells like my dad's socks in here!" Billy shouted after breathing in deeply.

A shriveled old women shuffled into the room, "My, what a pleasant surprise! My two grandsons have come to visit me." She said in a shaky voice when she noticed Billy and Mandy. She had curlers in her silver hair and she was still wearing her slippers and nightgown.

"We're not your grandchildren, Mimi. We've come to take you away." Mandy said sharply, a little annoyed at being called a 'grandson'.

"What do you want with my Mimi?" The old woman asked in confusion. She pointed towards a small dog hunched in the corner. It was the same dog shown in all the portraits around the room, but it's once pink fur was now colored a dark green and it was missing patches of hair in some spots. The dog's bloodshot eyes were half closed and the dog was barely moving, as if it were already dead.

"That's Mimi?" Mandy asked as she looked at the rotting dog.

"What's wrong with her?" The woman asked fearfully, looking up at the two reapers. She started to pat Mimi on the head, causing her to make a number of loud choking noises.

"Look lady, we've come to reap your dog and drag it's screaming soul into the depths of the Underworld where it will spend an eternity of pain and misery." Mandy said in a low voice, though there was something sinister about her tone.

"No! I won't let you take my baby away!" The old woman screamed. She picked up the dog, whose legs fell off and disintegrated. She started whispering to the dog, kissing it on the head after every sentence she spoke. The dog looked helplessly at the ground and whined in pain.

"Let's make a deal and have a LIMBO CONTEST!" Billy loudly suggested, "If we win, we get to take Mimi, but if you win, we have to be your best friends forever!" Billy was knocked to the floor by Mandy's scythe just as he finished his proposal.

The old lady continued to babble quietly to her miserably dog, kissing it so many times that more of it's hair started to fall off.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. It's your choice." Mandy pointed her scythe at the women, backing up her threat.

"You'll never get my baby! I'LL DIE BEFORE YOU TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!" The old lady shouted, " I WON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!" She screamed again as she pulled out a heavy wooden cane.

Billy and Mandy backed away slowly from the senile woman.

"I'LL BASH YOUR HEADS IN, I SWEAR! I'LL SEND YOU DEMONS STRAIGHT BACK TO HELL!" Foam was starting to fall from her mouth as she shook the cane at the 'demons'.

Billy and Mandy looked at the old lady, then at each other before they darted out the door, slamming it shut just as the old lady threw her cane at them. They ran through the tall grass and out onto the street. They both kept running for a few more minutes before they stopped to rest.

"What a nice old lady." Billy said while he tried to catch his breath, "TIME FOR THE NEXT PERSON ON THE LIST-AH!" He shouted in a strange voice.

Mandy looked furious as she clenched her hands and turned towards Billy, "You stupid cretin, if it weren't for you I would have reaped this whole neighborhood by now!" Her tone was much louder than usual.

Billy let out a melodramatic gasp before he spoke, "Well, I'd be able to do that too if you weren't so mean and UGLY all the time!" Billy yelled back. His voice got even louder when he said the word 'ugly'.

"That's it Billy, it's time to do something I should have done a long time ago…" Mandy said between clenched teeth. It looked like she was about to burst a vein as she stepped towards Billy with her scythe in hand.

Billy scoffed, "You can't hurt me, Mandy. I'm invincible!" He shouted as he pulled off his nose, then reattached it.

Mandy only seemed to get angrier, "Then I'll have to tell our entire class about your _horrible _little secret." She said menacingly.

Billy's nose sunk into his face and he fell to the ground after Mandy said that. He lay still for awhile before his nose popped back out again.

"Wait Mandy, don't do it! I'll do anything!" Billy begged as he crawled towards Mandy and started to kiss her shoes.

Mandy crossed her arms and looked up at the sky before she conceded, "Fine, I won't tell anyone." She said calmly, but her expression changed when she pulled Billy up by his robe, "But we're going to do things _my _way from now on, or else." Her angry tone had returned.

Billy nodded nervously, "Whatever you say Mandy, but…." Billy paused, " I GETS TO KEEP THE LIST!" He exclaimed as he broke free from Mandy's grip and ran down the sidewalk with the list, laughing the whole way.

Mandy cursed Billy's eternal soul while she picked up her scythe. She dusted off her robe and turned towards the direction Billy was running in.

"I hate you, Billy…" She said quietly as she walked down the street.

**Yep, that's chapter 2. I wanted to put more into this chapter, but if I had done that the chapter would have been too long and like I said, I want to have shorter chapters this time. This is kind of random but, how do you spell Pud'n with an apostrophe S? 'Pud'n's looks so weird. It's freaking me out, man! I want to get chapter three up as soon as possible, so I hope I don't drown within the next day or so (WHY WON'T THE RAIN STOP?). If that does happen, at least I'll be happy in my watery grave knowing that I was at least able to submit the second chapter. Seriousness aside, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed chapter 1 and anyone who might review this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Mandy the Homicidal Maniac

**CHAPTER THREEEEE! Hopefully I submitted this one a little sooner than usual. I didn't really feel like writing any stories today, mostly because I recently took a look at certain online comic featuring a MandyxGrim relationship that was created by a certain artist (not going to mention any names). Needless to say I was stunned, sickened, and really freaked out, but I just watched two straight hours of the _real _show so I think I'm back on track. Enough of dat, here is the next installment to the story.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 3: Mandy the Homicidal Maniac

Billy skipped joyfully through the streets of Endsville, dodging moving vehicles and pedestrians that passed him by. Mandy followed far behind him with her head down. She didn't want to be seen in public with the idiot ahead of her.

Billy stopped suddenly in front of a crosswalk on the street. He brought out his Grim Reaper list and smacked it against his nose, once again attempting to read it.

"Where are you taking us, Billy?" Mandy asked, still aggravated from before.

"The next house is supposed to be between the supermarket and the hardware store." Billy said as he lifted his head above the paper in his hands.

Both buildings stood in front of them, but there was no house between either building, there was only a dirty alleyway. Despite this, Billy showed no sign of concern as he ran giggling across the street, ignoring the flashing 'don't walk' sign. Cars on the road tried to swerve out of Billy's way, crashing into buildings and colliding with each other. Billy made it safely to the other side, oblivious to the smoldering wreckage behind him. Mandy paid no attention to the crying pleas of the injured drivers that lay scattered around her as she crossed the street, which was littered with broken glass and metal. Mandy gently raised her finger, bringing a oncoming car to an abrupt halt, allowing her to continue walking towards the other sidewalk.

The alleyway they walked into was drenched in mold and contaminated water. Huge rats swarmed over the garbage bag that lay strewn over the filthy concrete floor.

"Anybody home?" Billy shouted as a rat crawled up his robe.

Mandy looked around the alley with disgust, "What kind of miserably person would live in a-"

She was interrupted by a coarse voice, "You folks got a lot o' nerve comin' in here and disturbin' me just after I moved into my new house." The voice belonged to a ragged looking hobo with a bucket on his head who had just emerged from a filth-covered cardboard box.

Mandy wasn't entirely sure why, but the hobo made her feel nervous and uneasy. He looked very familiar, but she couldn't remember exactly where she had seen him before. She started to sweat profusely as she stared at the strange hobo, who stared right back at her with a curious expression.

Billy looked at Mandy's face, then at the hobo, "Have you two met before?" He asked in a happy voice, clueless as to what was going on.

Mandy appeared to wake from her trance, "I wouldn't know a scumbag like this." She said as her evil persona returned. "Alright, you bum. Time to steal to soul…" Her voice sounded more ominous than usual.

"I knews it! I knews you darn gremlins was tryin' to take my soul! The people at the post office wouldn't believe me!" The hobo yelled as he crawled out of the cardboard box and stood up.

Mandy swung her scythe at the hobo, creating a flash of red light. The hobo stepped backwards as if he had been struck by something. He looked stunned as he backed up into the wall and then slowly slid down it until he landed on the floor in a heap. Both his eyes turned a cloudy gray and his body went limp. Billy looked on in disbelief with his mouth hung open.

A blue mist surrounded the hobo and spread throughout the alley. A ghostly figure began to rise from the hobo's body, reaching higher into the air until it formed his transparent soul.

Mandy looked enraged as she lifted her scythe once more. In an act of pure hatred she swung her scythe at the head of the hobo's soul, cleanly slicing it off. The head tumbled down and rolled along the damp floor. The soul's body started to evaporate, leaving only the head behind.

"You killed the hobo!" Billy screamed. "Say it ain't so, Mandy. So it ain't so!" He fell face first onto the ground and started to cry.

"What's that thing whining' 'bout?" The head asked in irritation. It could obviously still speak.

Mandy's fit of rage appeared to be over and she stepped forward to pick up the severed head, " He's not necessarily dead, Billy. His soul's head is still alive, but I don't think he can move on to the afterlife. Too bad." She said cynically.

Billy calmed down and blew his nose with the sleeve of his robe.

"Now put this in a garbage bag where it belongs. It's starting to make me sick." Mandy said as she tossed the head to Billy, who dropped it.

Billy struggled to get a hold on the severed head, which tried to bite his fingers off each time he reached for it. Billy left the head on the slippery ground for a moment as he plunged his hands deep into the pile of overflowing garbage bags next to him. He pulled out the one he thought had the most rats in it and carefully shoved what was left of the hobo's soul inside the bag before they all walked out of the alley.

"I'll get you good for nothin' gremlins if it's the last thing I do! Then all the people who laughed at me will be sorry! Oh, they'll be sorry! I'LL MAKE THEM ALL PAY!" The hobo head screamed from inside the bag just before he started to laugh insanely.

"Tell that thing to shut up." Mandy ordered, almost wishing that she had left the head for the rats.

Billy did what he was told and punched the garbage bag, silencing the babbling hobo.

"Was that guy even on the list?" Mandy asked as she looked back at Billy.

Billy smiled stupidly and shrugged his shoulders, "I can barely read, I JUST LIKES TO SEE HOBOS" He loudly exclaimed.

Mandy thought about slapping Billy again, but she decided it wasn't worth it.

"You can pick someone to reap who isn't on the list too, Mandy! How about your parents?" Billy suggested.

Mandy stopped walking and thought about it for a moment, "They have been unusually happy lately…" She said as she considered the possibility of reaping her parent's souls. "I better not, though. They promised they'd buy me a flamethrower if I stopped watching them while they sleep…ever night." There was an awkward silence after she had finished speaking.

Billy looked a little uneasy, "Well, uh… I guess we should look at the…list." He stammered as he searched his robe pocket.

Mandy stopped him, "Wait a second, Billy. I never said I didn't have some other people in mind." She said darkly as she started to walk in the direction of their suburban neighborhood.

* * *

(And so, the two reapers went on a number of horrible and bizarre encounters, which I honestly don't feel like writing about. Few were spared from the wrath of Mandy's scythe as she mercilessly cut down the souls of her enemies and collected their remains. Billy ate a squirrel as well, but that's a different story. Anyway, time to get back to _this _story.) 

Mandy's room was unusually peaceful for once. It's pink walls and design seemed odd for a child like Mandy, but it was in fact her room. The peaceful silence was shattered when both reapers marched inside with the spoils of the day. Mandy rested her scythe against her bed while Billy dragged the garbage bag of 'soul heads', which was now full, to the center of the room.

"Gee Mandy, I've never seen a house explode like that before! How did you do it?" Billy asked excitedly, referring to one of the events that had happened within the last two hours or so.

"It's just something I learned a couple of years ago." Mandy replied coolly.

"I like to kill things!" Billy exclaimed as he dropped the bag on the floor.

"Me too Billy, me too." She said in a low voice. "Now put those severed heads in my closet." She pointed towards the large white doors in the back of the room.

Billy struggled to pull the heavy bag towards the closet. When he finally got there he opened the closet doors, revealing a mound of severed heads already hidden in the corner. Billy didn't seem to notice them as he emptied the contents of the bag, which included the heads of Mindy and General Skarr, among others. Billy wasn't bothered by the what was left of the screaming souls, and he emptied the rest of the garbage bag with an idiotic smile on his face. His expression changed when he finally did notice the _other _pile of severed heads in the corner.

"Hey Mandy, there's more heads in your closet than there were in the plastic bag..." Billy pointed out as his tiny mind tried to make sense of it all.

"What's your point?" Mandy asked in a hostile voice.

Mandy's stare made Billy nervous, and he started to sweat under his robe (or he wet himself, one or the other). He looked back at one of the severed heads and his blissful stupidity returned.

"Oooh, so that's what happened to our mailman!" He shouted as he pointed to one of the heads.

"I think you've seen enough." Mandy said before she pushed Billy out of the way and slammed the closet doors shut. "Let's go, Billy." She started to drag him towards the door.

"I'll never forget you, talking hobo head!" Billy shouted as they left the room.

Strange, cryptic noises could still be heard coming from Mandy's closet even while they walked through the hallway.

"So Mandy, what do we do now!" Billy asked anxiously as they walked down the stairs.

Mandy ran her finger alone the blade of her scythe, making sure it was still sharp enough, "I think we have some more work to do, Billy. I'm starting to like this job." She said quietly as she walked out the door.

**Hooraaaay, it's over! Just like the last chapter, this one is shorter than I intended it to be, but I still think it holds up on its own. This has nothing to do with anything, but I just noticed something really weird while watching Grim Adventures: Mandy has been called 'sweet cheeks' on at least two occasions. This is strange not only because Mandy is often described as well, not really good looking in the show, but also because she is called sweet cheeks by animals on both occasions. The first time is in the episode _, Hog Wild,_ when an alligator calls her that and the second time a rat calls her that in the episode _Dad Day Afternoon._ The fact that only animals find Mandy attractive seems bizarre to me (it could also explain why wolves tried to raise her when she was born.) Yeah, just felt like sharing that with you (I need to take up some space because this chapter is a little short). Thanks for reading and reviewing, the next chapter should be submitted soon. That wasn't so bad, was it? It probably killed some time, right? Since you're reading this, why not read and review my other story: Mandy's Addiction! It's not that bad, really. I mean, I think it's okay. COME ON! I SET A GOAL TO GET TEN REVIEWS FOR THAT STORY AND I WILL NOT BE DENIED! It's really not that bad a story, honestly.**

**Please?**


	4. Two Stories About One Story

**Alright peoples, here's the next chapter. This story will hopefully change direction by the end of this chapter, so the whole story won't be about Billy and Mandy trying to decapitate people anymore. I would say that this chapter is the halfway point of the story, but I'm not entirely sure about that because I really don't know how many chapters there will be. Now, before I make this any longer: Enjoy chapter four.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 4: Two Stories About One Story

It looked like a peaceful afternoon in Billy and Mandy's neighborhood. Children played carelessly in the middle of the street, their laughter the only sound that could be heard. None of them noticed the two messengers of death walking behind them with their scythe blades gleaming in the sun.

This time Mandy walked ahead of Billy, her scythe pointed forward. Billy followed a short distance behind her. Spending this much time reaping with Mandy was a dream come true for him, and he wore his usual stupid smile, but he was a little troubled by Mandy's recent behavior and he wanted to keep his distance. Mandy continued to move quickly ahead of him, she had gotten a taste of what it was like to be a reaper and now she wanted more. As she walked she thought about who their next unfortunate victim should be.

A familiar and intimidating voice made Billy and Mandy stop in place, "What do we have here, guys?" The voice belonged to Sperg, the local bully that tormented Billy constantly. He was a very large and muscular kid who wore a red hat and had a heart-shaped tattoo on his arm that read, 'Mom'. He was followed by two of his idiot friends, who served as his sidekicks.

"We better get out of here Mandy, Sperg likes to give wedgies on days like this." Billy whispered to Mandy, already afraid of what Sperg might do to him. Mandy said nothing, instead she just glared at Sperg, not at all intimated by the bully.

"It looks like we got a couple of dorks who want Halloween to come early this year!" Sperg jeered at Billy as he walked closer, not noticing Mandy's piercing stare. Billy smiled weakly and his whole body trembled as Sperg tugged on the sleeve of his robe, "This dress of yours looks pretty comfortable, but I bet I can still give you THE WORST WEDGIE OF YOUR LIFE!"

Billy squealed like a pig as Sperg lifted him up by his underwear, hanging him above the sidewalk. Billy's face turned red and tears welled up in his eyes as Sperg lifted him even higher. Sperg's mindless friends laughed uncontrollably at the pathetic creature that dangled helplessly by his pants. Mandy watched the spectacle with an expressionless face; once again Billy was too much of a wimp to defend himself.

"Leave the boy alone, Sperg." She said blankly.

Sperg looked taken aback for a moment, not used to being challenged by other 'weaker' kids, "What'd you say to me, punk?" He asked aggressively as he dropped Billy on the hard ground.

Mandy turned towards Sperg so he could get a better look at her face from behind the dark hood of her robe. When Sperg realized who it was he froze in fear. He was terrified of Mandy, especially her unflinching stare. In fact, she was probably the only thing that kept him from punching Billy's face in on a regular basis.

"I said leave him alone or I'll grind you up and feed you to the homeless." (I don't know what that means).

Huge drops of sweat trickled down Sperg's face as he stared back at the frightening girl, who was made even more frightening by the large weapon she held in her hands. Sperg's lips trembled as he tried to speak, but no sound came from his mouth. He tried to look away, but there was some kind of evil aura that surrounded Mandy that made it almostimpossible for him to break free from her gaze. His eyes strained to look downwards, where he noticed the reaper list that had fallen out of Billy's robe lying on the ground. Desperate to find something to divert his attention away from Mandy, he hurriedly picked the paper up and brought it closer to his face.

"Reaper list? What do you need a reaper list for?" Sperg asked Billy (whose face was still implanted in the ground) as he kicked him in the ribs. "I think I'll keep this for myself." Sperg stuffed the paper in his mouth and began to noisily chew it up before swallowing. He wiped the drool off his face before he turned back to his friends, letting out an obnoxious laugh while they all walked away.

Billy finally pulled his face off of the concrete ground and stood up on his knees, "Thank you Sperg!" He shouted in fake appreciation, not wanting to say anything insulting that would make Sperg even more violent. He picked up his scythe and got to his feet, with no help from Mandy, who stood next to him.

"I guess we better go home now…" Billy said with a sigh. He sounded depressed, which was very rare for him.

"You're just going to let Sperg push you around like that? Do you want to be a pathetic weakling for the rest of your life?" Mandy raised her voice. She was tired of Billy's cowardice.

"But Mandy, Sperg's the biggest, meanest, and strongest kid in school! Alls I got are these little wimp muscles!" He replied, pulling the sleeve of his robe up to reveal his skinny arm, which barely had any muscle on it at all.

"We're getting that list back, even if we have to go into that thug's house." Mandy said, ignoring Billy's excuses.

"How are we going to take on Sperg all by ourselves?"

"I already told you, we're doing things _my _way now." She wiped off her scythe blade with her robe and started to walk in the direction Sperg had gone in.

* * *

The two reapers found themselves standing in front of a large apartment building in the heart of Endsville. The featureless brick building was block shaped with small, identical windows lining the walls. Mandy opened a large, steel door in the front and stepped inside the apartment (Billy needed to be convinced before he stepped inside). The inside of the apartment wasn't as bland as she had thought it would be, but the paint on the walls was starting to chip off and fall onto the worn-out rug that covered the floor and stairway. Neither reaper spoke a word to each other as they walked up a few flights of stairs that led them to a narrow hallway. They were soon standing in front of Sperg's apartment door, which was colored an off-white. 

"Alright, just leave the talking to me, Billy. And try not to look like an idiot." Mandy instructed. Billy nodded nervously.

Mandy quietly walked up to the door and loudly knocked on it. There was silence for a moment, then the sound of footsteps could be heard coming to the other side of the door. The sound of a loud bolt being unlocked appeared and the door slowly creaked open, revealing one of Sperg's friends looking through the small crack in the door. Mandy pushed the door open with her scythe, knocking the kid out of the way and onto an old dirty couch in the corner. Sperg sat at a small table in the middle of the living room, surrounded by bags of food and wrappers. Sperg's mom didn't appear to be home and the entire room was littered with trash. Sperg's expression was a mixture of fear and confusion as Mandy stepped inside the apartment with her scythe drawn.

"Hey kids." She said. Her voice retained her usual sinister tone, but there was something very different about her personality. "How are you guys doing?" Mandy asked almost cynically. Sperg and the kid on the couch didn't answer, and even Billy looked shocked at Mandy's behavior.

"Am I stupid, or did I just ask a question?" She asked impatiently.

"W-we're doing okay." Sperg stammered, not sure about what was happening.

Billy strolled past Sperg and into the kitchen, where he started to open the kitchen cabinets. His face lit up when he found a box of his favorite cereal on one of the shelves. He pulled the box and ripped the top off of it before stuffing the cereal into his mouth and crunching loudly.

"Do you remember our good friend Grim?" Mandy asked Sperg. She ignored Billy, who continued to eat noisily in the background.

"I sort of remember him…" Sperg answered shakily, trying not to make eye contact.

"Very good." Mandy changed the subject,"It looks like we interrupted your lunch, what are you eating?"

"Hamburgers…" Sperg replied.

"What kind of hamburgers, Sperg?"

"Bacon cheeseburger…I think."

"No, I mean from what restaurant?"

"M-Mad Cow Burger."

"I've heard they have good burgers there. Does it taste good?"

"Pretty good…"

"I don't usually eat hamburgers, but can I try some?"

"Yeah…sure…."

Mandy walked over to the table and picked up one of the burgers. She slowly brought it to her face and took a small bite out of it. Billy stared at Mandy with his mouth opened wide, causing bits of soggy cereal fall from his mouth to the floor.

"That's not too bad." Mandy said as she put the burger back down on the table. "Do you know what they call a quarter-pounder with cheese in France?"

Sperg looked even more confused by the random question, "I don't know…" He answered.

"They call it a Royale with cheese. Do you know why?"

"The…metric…system?

"That's right, the metric system. You're smarter than you look, Sperg" Mandy replied. "What's drink is that?" She wondered as she pointed towards a plastic cup on the table.

"It's orange soda."

"Orange soda is pretty good. Can I have some to wash that food down?"

"Yeah…"

Mandy reached over and grabbed the large drink, which she took a sip of, "That was just what I needed." She said as she gently placed the cup back on the table.

Sperg tried to apologize, "We're sorry about what we did to Billy back there…we were just joking around and-"

Before Sperg could finish talking Mandy pulled out her scythe and pointed it at the kid that still sat on the couch. Bursts of green light emitted from her scythe and hit the terrified child, knocking him backwards with each shot fired. The boy's body was enveloped in a green glow and he appeared to be paralyzed, as if he were frozen solid. Billy put his box of cereal away and stepped into the living room; he had never thought anything like this was going to happen. Sperg started to hyperventilate as he watched his friend sit motionless on the couch.

"I'm sorry, Sperg. Did I break your concentration?" Mandy asked coldly. "I think you said something about 'joking around'?"

Sperg started to sweat profusely again. He was too scared to speak.

"So you were done speaking anyway. Then let me say something: Where did you put the list?"

Sperg still couldn't speak, he was hyperventilating too much.

Mandy couldn't control her temper any longer and she tipped the table over, splattering food and drink all over the floor and walls. She slowly approached Sperg, who still sat in his chair, covered with spilled food and soda.

"What country are you from?" She asked in a loud voice.

"What?" Sperg was finally able to speak but he looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

"I've never heard of a country called 'what'. Do they speak English there?"

"What?"

"Can you even speak English?"

"Y-Yes…."

"You understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes…"

"So where did you put the list!"

"What?"

Mandy raised her scythe and pointed it at Sperg's head, threatening to sever it, "Say 'what' again. I dare you to say that word again! Say 'what' one more time!" Sperg started wetting himself as the scythe blade got closer.

He tried to explain, "I picked it up…."

"Go on…"

"Then I put it in my mouth…"

"Did you give Billy a wedgie?"

"What?"

Mandy kicked Sperg's chair, sending him crashing backwards. Sperg grabbed his right and winced in pain as he lay on the floor.

"I have something memorized that I want to share with you Sperg: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you." Mandy recited the passage as she pointed her scythe at Sperg (all of this was too much to handle for Billy, who was staring blankly at Mandy)

Mandy's scythe fired the same green light from before at Sperg, this time Billy joined in to help by firing at Sperg with his own scythe. Sperg lay frozen on the floor, not dead, but definitely incapacitated at that moment. Billy giggled after he finished firing. Mandy pointed her scythe at Sperg and hit him with a beam of red light, which slowly levitated the reaper list out of Sperg's stomach, through his mouth and into the air. Mandy looked at the soggy ball of paper, which was dripping with salvia, and threw it at Billy's face, where it stuck. Billy didn't seem to mind as he pulled off the list and shoved it back into his pocket, then licked his own face clean.

"Let's get out of this place" Mandy said as they moved towards the open door leading down the hallway.

Suddenly the bathroom door on the wall next to them swung open and Sperg's second friend rushed out. He held a large dart gun in his hands, which he pointed at the two reapers at pointblank range.

"TAKE THIS YOU FREAKS!" He screamed as he repeatedly fired the dart gun at Billy and Mandy, who flinched at the incoming darts.

The boy stopped screaming after he had shot ever dart at the intruders. A look of dread appeared on his face as he stared in disbelief. Every single dart had missed it's target, instead sticking harmlessly on the wall behind the reapers. Billy and Mandy looked at each other, than at the wall behind them, them finally at the shooter; both of them were just as confused as he was. Sperg's remaining friend gulped nervously and slowly lowered his dart gun. Billy and Mandy pointed their scythes in his direction, taking their time while they aimed at him. All the boy could do was stand there and watch as they continuously fired at him, freezing him where he stood.

"Those darts almost hit us, Mandy!" Billy exclaimed. "Did you see the size of that thing?"

"We were pretty lucky…" Mandy replied, she was speaking in a monotone voice again.

"That wasn't luck, Mandy! That must have been our guardian angel protecting us!" He shouted.

"Yeah, whatever." Mandy muttered as she started to leave.

"Don't leave Mandy! What happened here was a miracle!"

"It had nothing to do with any of that stuff. Things like this just happen sometimes."

"I'm not leaving until you admit that this was a miracle." Billy said stubbornly.

"Fine, Billy. It was a miracle. Can we leave now?"

Billy smiled, content with Mandy's insincere response. He followed her out the door and into the hallway, leaving Sperg and his two friends behind.

They walked down the stairs, out of the building, and onto the sidewalk.

"THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER! Where'd you learn all that stuff from, Mandy?" Billy asked in excitement as he tugged on Mandy's robe.

"Don't touch me." She said flatly, pushing Billy into a telephone pole. Though she answered his question anyway, "I saw it in a movie once."

"Maybe you could teach me to be like that." Billy suggested.

"No, Billy. You're a spineless idiot." Mandy replied.

Billy giggled loudly, "Yeah, you're right."

**Whoa, that was kind of weird. Just so you know, that whole scene in Sperg's apartment is based off of a movie, which is why the dialogue was different (though I changed a lot of the dialogue to fit the story and characters). It may seem strange, but I chose to do this simply because the earlier chapters of this story reminded me of that movie, so I decided to write a chapter based on it. I think this chapter is too long because off that, but oh well. I said the direction of the story would change in this chapter but…yeah, I lied. That should happen in the next chapter.**

**Response to almostinsane's review: I LIKES DISTURBING AND SCARY! Seriously though, you're right, that last chapter was a little darker than usual. I made it that way mostly because I wanted to try something different, something that portrayed Billy and Mandy in a more sinister way. Ultimately my attempt at this was meant to be comedic, not to freak people out. I actually liked writing chapter 3 because I could take the show 'to the next level' as far as content goes. I'll admit that I enjoyed portraying Billy and Mandy as a duo of insane murderers who terrorize their hometown. The rest of the chapters probably won't be as morbid as chapter 3, although this chapter was pretty dark as well. Like I said earlier, I would only write something like that if I thought it could improve the comedy and overall content of the story. Time to take a deep breath; anyway, thanks for another awesome review.**

**And Thanks to you for reading (and maybe even reviewing!)**


	5. New Underworld Order

**Okay, this time the story _actually does _change direction a little bit. So it won't only be about Billy and Mandy anymore (though there will still be plenty of that). I guess that's all I have to say. I hopes you enjoy this chapter.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 5: New Underworld Order

And so, Billy and Mandy resumed their jobs as temporary reapers and once again terrorized the inhabitants of Endsville. In a miniscule amount of time they became the most sinister creatures the town had ever seen. In an act of pitiless fury they unleashed a plague of death upon the unsuspecting citizens, wielding their scythes with all the hatred of the Underworld itself. Soon, a shadow fell over the city and the horrible legend of Billy and Mandy began to grow…

"PICKLES DIPPED IN OLD MAYONNAISE!" Billy squealed with delight as he spotted a jar of one of his favorite snacks sitting behind a parked car on the side of the road.

"I wouldn't eat that, Billy. I don't feel like dragging you to the hospital again." Mandy cautioned.

Billy ignored Mandy (of course) and ran over to the jar, which he sat next to. He plunged his hand into the messy contents of the jar, splattering thick, yellow mayonnaise all over himself. He gently lifted a pickle, which was covered in mayo, out of the container. There were small hairs growing out of the glob of mayonnaise.

"You're just jealous 'cause I saw them first!" Billy replied with his mouth full of pickles, causing mayonnaise to drip out his mouth.

"That's right, Billy. I'm jealous." She said sarcastically as she came closer, trying not to look at Billy's disgusting eating habits.

They both noticed a sudden rumbling noise just after Billy shoved another pickle into his mouth. The noise appeared to be coming from beneath the ground.

"What is that?" Mandy wondered, looking around to try and find the source of the noise.

"It's probably just my stomach growling, it does that a lot when I eat mayonnaise pickles." Billy explained, not seeming to notice anything different. "The searing pain in my stomach means it's good for me!"

The rumbling sound only appeared to get louder, and Mandy noticed a large crack in the street that formed a circle around her and Billy. Even Billy noticed the strange circle, though he kept stuffing food into his face. The ground inside the circle suddenly began to break apart, forming a small crater. They both sat in the middle of the crater, neither one entirely sure about what had happened. Then the ground gave way beneath them, creating a tunnel that led deep underground.

Mandy tried to use her scythe to hook onto the stone walls of the tunnel, hoping that she could stop herself from falling, but she lost her grip on it and continued to plummet downwards. All Billy did was wrap both arms around his jar of pickles to keep it from spilling; he had let go of his scythe the second the tunnel had appeared.

They kept falling deeper and deeper into the earth for what seemed like hours. Finally, the tunnel ended and they both landed hard on the ground, which was made of solid rock.

As Mandy stood up she realized they were now standing in the middle of Grim's realm, the Underworld.

The jagged rocks that covered the landscape were lit up by the intense fires that surrounded them. Clouds of vampire bats flew through the stalactites above, while multitudes of bizarre creatures slithered through the rocks below. There were giant minotaurs in the distance, each one wielding a pitchfork, which they used to guide groups of screaming souls through the flames and caverns of their new eternal home. Mandy recognized Grim's three headed dog Cerberus, who was guarding the gates of the Underworld, a massive structure that towered above everything else. She surveyed everything with an expressionless stare, but Billy looked a little uncomfortable, even though this was not their first trip to the Underworld.

A fairly large creature appeared from the flames below and climbed up on the large stone platform where the two reapers were standing. He was red in color, with dark yellow horns and large hooves for feet. In his right hand he carried a large scepter, which was made of some sort of black metal.

The demon looked back down below and made a signal with his hand as if he were telling someone that it was safe to come out. Almost immediately after that, an assortment of demons and other Underworld creatures began to emerge from beneath the platform, which they quickly surrounded. They were of all sizes and shapes; some were giants, others were barely the size of Billy's nose. Some of them had horns, wings or tails while other had dozens of eyes, or none at all. Though they all looked different, each one stared anxiously at Billy and Mandy.

"As you can see, we have brought both of you here to the Underworld, thanks to our pickle jar bait." The demon with the scepter announced. Apparently he was the appointed leader of the Underworld creatures.

"Pickle bait? Why didn't you just send someone up to find us?" Mandy asked, annoyed at being thrown down a tunnel instead of being escorted down.

The red demon thought about it for a moment, "I don't know, I guess it's just funnier this way." He answered with a chuckle as he pointed to Billy, who had just devoured another pickle, getting mayonnaise up his nose.

Mandy frowned angrily, but she let the demon continue speaking.

"We have been watching you on your reaping assignments and we're very impressed at all the souls you two have collected. We didn't even know there were that many people on the reaper list!"

Billy and Mandy exchanged glances, but neither one of them said anything.

"We've all been thinking about it and we have decided that it's time for some new management around here." The demon said loudly. "That Grim guy had a good run, but he hasn't been doing well since the 1800's. It took as more than a century, but we finally realize he's nothing but a loser."

Mandy looked surprised, she knew Grim's reputation was lower than it used to be, but she never thought he was in danger of being replaced.

"Remember that time Grim had his own show, and we saw that footage of him in a flower garden wearing a dress?" The red demon asked the surrounded creatures as he laughed. "Or that time we saw him dancing in a cowboy suit?"

That got all the creatures in the Underworld to start laughing hysterically. Even Billy started laughing.

"Yeah, Grim is always doing stuff like that!" He shouted before laughing like an idiot again.

Mandy stayed silent among the roaring laughter, glaring irately at the red demon. The laughter finally died down until only a few scattered giggles could be heard.

The red demon cleared his throat (he obviously had a lot to say), "No, we can't have a someone like that as lord of the Underworld. We need reapers like you two, who can instill fear into the hearts of mortal men at the mere mention of your names. You are the future of the Underworld!"

"Can we get on with this, or do we have to listen to you rant for another hour?" Mandy asked impatiently.

The demon looked startled for a moment, then a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat again and looked around.

"Yes, of course…" He said in a low voice before he shouted, "TIME FOR THE CEREMONY!"

The demon's voice echoed throughout the Underworld as the rock platform Billy and Mandy were standing on rose even higher above the cheering multitudes of creatures on the ground. It continued to rise until it surveyed the entire realm of the Underworld. Soaring flames of many different colors encircled the platform, creating dark smoke that took the form of skulls as it drifted into the air. Floating souls, bats, and other demonic creatures flew above them in a frenzy. Down below, hordes of undead corpses burst from the ground and joined the crowd of creatures. All of this happened as Cerberus let out a deafening howl, which added perfectly to the hectic scene. It was clear to Billy and Mandy that this was meant to be a very dramatic ceremony.

"This may sting a lot." The demon said as he lifted his scepter, which was now glowing red, into the air.

The demon slammed the end of the scepter down into the ground, sending shockwaves throughout the platform. The surrounding fire intensified until it appeared to consume everything around it. A dark red glow appeared around Billy and Mandy and grew larger with each second.

"Getting caught on fire tickles!" Billy shouted as the red glow continued to spread.

There was a flash of blinding white light, which quickly faded away. The red glow had disappeared and the fire had relented. Billy and Mandy's robes were a little singed, but other than that they didn't feel any different.

"You now posses _all _the powers of the Underworld. Did you really think your friend granted you unlimited reaper powers? Even he wouldn't risk something like that." The demon said with a grin. He stepped closer and extended his scepter, "You will now receive the mark of the Grim Reaper."

The demon pressed the end of the scepter against Billy's bare arm. There was a loud sizzling noise as Billy yelped in pain. When he removed the scepter there was smoke coming from Billy's arm, but that disappeared quickly, revealing a black skull-shaped tattoo. The demon did the same thing to Mandy, who didn't even flinch when the scepter touched her skin.

"Coool, I didn't know reapers get their own tattoos!" Billy exclaimed as he and Mandy examined their own 'marks of the reaper'.

"Those crappy scythes won't cut it, we'll have to get you new ones." The demon declared.

He raised his scepter one last time and two perfectly made scythes appeared. They were larger than the older scythes and had sharper, sleeker blades. They were both inscribed with Billy and Mandy's names and they floated towards their respective owners.

"Behold, the King and Queen of the Underworld!" The demon shouted as he faced the crowd, which erupted in cheers.

"What a second!" Mandy yelled, silencing the entire crowd. "What do you mean 'King and Queen of the Underworld'? What are you implying?"

The demon was at a loss for words. He stared nervously at Mandy, who glared furiously at him.

"Well I…I thought that…well, I just assumed that you two were…you know!" He stuttered. "I mean, why else would you hang out with him? Look at him, he's an idiot!" The demon pointed to Billy, who was snorting the rest of the mayonnaise out of the pickle jar.

Mandy gritted her teeth and gripped her new scythe in both hands. She approached the demon and cleaved him in half before he could defend himself. His scepter fell to the ground and what was left of his body disintegrated in a burst of flames.

"These scythes _are _better." Mandy said quietly as she closely examined the blade.

"Yeah, now I can use my old scythe as a backscratcher!" Billy shouted while he scratched his back and nose with the blade of his old scythe.

"You've been doing that anyway…" Mandy pointed out.

Billy just shrugged and lodged the scythe up his nostril. Mandy looked at her old scythe, then chucked it off the stone platform, where it landed in front of Cerberus' feet. The three dog heads bent down to sniff the scythe before growling and biting viciously at each other. One of the heads got hold of the scythe and promptly swallowed it.

Another demon cautiously climbed up to the platform and picked up the scepter. He glanced nervously at the pile of ashes that used to be his predecessor. He shook his head vigorously, trying to forget about it, then he faced the crowd.

"All hail the new Grim Reapers of the Underworld!" He bellowed.

The crowd cheered again as fire and brimstone rained down from above. Billy stared thoughtlessly out in front of him with his tongue sticking out. Mandy's face showed no expression or sign of emotion.

That day would become one of the most memorable days in the history of the Underworld. Many souls were damned to eternal suffering that day as the unholy creatures celebrated the arrival of their new rulers. Even God would have thought it was a beautiful moment (well, maybe not).

* * *

It was early morning in Endsville and the blanket-covered lump on Billy's bed began to stir. The 'lump' was Grim of course, who threw off the covers and stretched his bones. He yawned deeply and looked out the window with a smile on his face. It was a beautiful morning; the sun was shining, birds were chirping and everything looked peaceful (at least at first glance).Grim jumped out of bed and inspected his bones, which were now a healthy, pearly-white color. 

"Ah, that's much better." He said as he took a deep breath and summoned his black robe.

Grim walked briskly out of the room and into the hallway. He had completely recovered from his illness and all it took was a little rest and some peace and quiet. He had slept for almost three straight days, only being awoken occasionally by Billy's mom, who had been sneaking into the room and hitting him on the head with a broomstick.

As Grim walked down the hallway, Billy's mom jumped out from one of the hall closets, "Stay away from my Billy, skeleton man!" She shrieked hysterically, throwing an alarm clock at his head before disappearing again.

Grim rubbed the sore spot on his skull, but tried to ignore it as much as possible. He still felt great and nothing was going to make him feel otherwise.

He walked down the stairs, hoping to see Billy and Mandy sitting on the couch, as usual. He wanted to get his scythe back and see how their reaping assignment went (he hoped it wasn't a complete disaster). But when Grim stepped inside the living room, all he saw was Billy's dad laying lazily on the couch.

"Morning, Harold. Have you seen Billy around?" Grim asked.

"Nope haven't seen him or Mandy for days." He answered, not taking his eyes off the television set. None of this seemed to worry him.

"You haven't seen them in days?" Grim couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yep, just like when I was a kid. Walking around town in funny costumes, chopping people's heads off, leaving home for days at a time…" Harold chuckled. "It's good to be young."

Grim was shocked by all of this. He hadn't expected Billy and Mandy to have a lot of success while reaping, but he at least expected each of them to come back in one piece. Although he hated both of them with a blind, undying rage, there was a part of Grim that was worried about the safety of those two children. He looked down and noticed the morning newspaper on the ground. The article on the front page read: 'New Reapers terrorize Endsville. Mortals once again fear death'. Grim's eyes widened as he snatched the paper off the carpet and read the rest of the story. Any worries Grim may have had about Billy and Mandy's well-being were destroyed as he finished reading the article. He crumpled up the paper and threw it to the floor.

"Those ungrateful little brats!" He yelled furiously. "I leave them alone for a few days and they betray me!"

He began to storm out of the house, but Harold asked him something before he went out the door.

"Hey Grimmy, could you pick up some of that ice cream with the little éclairs in it while you're out there?" Harold wondered.

Grim grumbled, "Yes, Harold. I'll pick up the ice cream with the little éclairs in it." He said blankly.

"Thanks a lot, buddy!" Harold yelled back.

Grim cursed under his breath while he walked across the front lawn. He noticed that there was something different about the neighborhood. Everything around him was encased in an eerie silence and a sense of dread seemed to hang over each household. He looked around to see if anyone had even left their house as he raised his hand in the air, anticipating his scythe to appear any second. Grim looked at his empty, outstretched hand, wondering what the problem was. He smacked himself on the forehead when he realized that Billy and Mandy still had his scythe.

"I might as well face it, I'm stuck here forever." He said hopelessly. "Billy and Mandy have my job and there's nothing I can do about it." He lowered his head.

The sound of a powerful engine caught Grim's attention and he looked up. There appeared to be a large vehicle of some sort speeding up the road in his direction. The vehicle was surrounded by a cloud of dust, making it impossible to see it clearly. It came to a screeching halt in front of Billy's house, covering everything with dust and dirt. Grim coughed uncontrollably as dust filled his eye sockets, temporarily blinding him. As he turned around he was knocked backwards by a large object, which he couldn't get a good look at.

As the dust slowly cleared away, Grim found himself staring at the end of a large chainsaw inches away from his face. The chainsaw belonged to Hoss Delgado, spectral exterminator; the ruthless, but dimwitted fighter of supernatural evil.

"I've got you now, ghost monkey. Now tell where you hid the babies." Hoss said intensely, still holding his chainsaw hand right above Grim's skull.

"Do you know who I am?" Grim asked in agitation, making sure to keep his face away from the chainsaw.

Hoss Delgado removed his chainsaw hand, replacing it with a solid-metal gauntlet. He sat down on the grass and looked at Grim with a curious expression, trying as hard as he could to remember where he'd seen him before.

"The King of Pop? I thought he was in jail…" Hoss said to himself, though it was loud enough for Grim to hear. "I'm keeping my eyes on you too, pal."

"I'm the messenger of death! The reaper of lost souls! Remember?" Grim snapped.

Hoss strained his mind for another minute or so before he replied, "Oh yeah, the skinny guy with the slave children."

"I'm _their _slave, but close enough." He corrected him.

Grim stood up and brushed off his robe. Hoss looked around the neighborhood, hoping to see the 'ghost monkey' or any other suspicious creature. Grim looked at the gigantic four-wheel monster truck parked in front of them. He realized he had no way of traveling to the Underworld all by himself. Although he hated the thought of it, Grim had to ask Hoss Delgado for a favor.

"Hoss…this is something I wouldn't normally ask, but I'm in a difficult situation." He began slowly, as each word was painful for him. "I know you have ties to the supernatural and I was wondering if…you could help me get to the Underworld." Grim finally finished.

Hoss stared at him with his eyebrow raised. He thought about it, lightly tapping his chin with one of his prosthetic steel fingers.

He agreed, "Alright, Jacko. You got yourself a deal. Come to think of it, I have a score to settle with those Underworld punks. They stole a picture of me when I was still a woman."

Hoss' overdramatic expression didn't change as he finished speaking. Grim stared blankly at him, not sure how to react. There was an awkward silence as they both stared at each other, neither one moved.

"I guess we better take my truck." Hoss said after awhile.

Grim was silent for a moment longer, "Yeah, I guess we better…"

They both stared at each other again before turning towards Hoss' vehicle. Hoss jumped into the driver's seat with ease, but Grim had trouble climbing up to the passenger's door, which was at least six feet off the ground.

"Need some help there?" Hoss asked almost sarcastically.

"I can do it myself!" Grim shouted.

Grim tried to pull himself up to the leather-covered seat, but almost fell out of the truck in the process. He managed to hold on by grabbing the seat belt that hung out the door and hoisting himself next to the driver's seat. The massive engine roared back to life as Grim shut the door. Hoss slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, causing the oversized wheels to spin rapidly. There was another cloud of smoke and dust as Grim and Hoss drove out of sight.

**This chapter is a little longer than usual, but that's okay every once in a while. I wanted to get Grim back into the story in this chapter, so that's why I made sure I got that last part in. Well, I think that's about it (whoa, short author's notes). Thank you for your time.**


	6. Grim and Hoss in Sin City

**Oh yeahs, time for chapter SIX. Um, I've pretty much run out of things to say. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 6: Grim and Hoss in Sin City

Fire and hot magma surrounded two skull shaped thrones in the center of the Underworld. On each throne sat Billy and Mandy, the new rulers of the realm of the dead. A small, hideous creature flew over to Mandy with a cold drink in his hand.

"Here's the lemonade you wanted, your highness." He said as he handed her the drink.

Mandy inspected the beverage, "Too many ice cubes." She said as she threw the glass at the creature, sending him into the magma below, where he burst into flames.

Billy was also being pampered by his demon servants as he relaxed in his throne, which sat right next to Mandy's. One demon hovered in front of Billy, massaging his nose with both claws. Another demon was clipping Billy's fingernails with his old scythe. Two huge bodyguards stood behind Billy, holding bottles of root beer and other snacks, waiting to stuff them into Billy's mouth at his request.

"Could you hold on to that lint between my toes, I might get hungry later." Billy said in an unusually quiet and relaxed tone to one of the demons that was cleaning his bare feet. The demon looked disgusted, but obviously obeyed his master.

Billy motioned towards one of his bodyguards, who quickly walked over and shoved the bottle of root beer into his mouth. Billy gulped down the bottle, burping loudly afterwards. His servants backed away as he sat up with a yawn and stretched his arms. Billy was in paradise, though he couldn't help but be a little melancholy.

"I wish Grim were here to see this." He said sadly.

Mandy looked over at him with an irritated expression, "Why do you still care about that useless bag of bones." She said harshly. "He could be in pieces for all I care. Besides, I have plans now that I'm ruler of this place."

That didn't appear to cheer Billy up at all, in fact he looked even more depressed. Mandy noticed this and decided it was time to show him something. She whistled loudly and a series of loud footsteps could be heard immediately afterwards. Billy almost fell out of his throne as the ground shook violently with each foot step. Cerberus, the source the commotion, stepped in front of the reapers and sat down. There was a large machine that resembled a vacuum cleaner strapped to his back.

"You got Cerberus a new dog sweater!" Billy exclaimed, right before Mandy slapped him.

"It's not a sweater, you idiot. It's a new device I've been working that's going to revolutionize reaping as we know it."

"What's it do! What's it do!" Billy asked anxiously, interrupting Mandy before she could explain any further.

"It has the ability to suck people's souls right out of their bodies, from a distance of over two football fields." Mandy continued, annoyed at being interrupted. "This thing could take out a whole town in seconds."

Billy stared at the machine in awe, "What's it called?"

Mandy didn't reply. She hadn't come up with a name yet.

"Oh! Oh! I wanna name it the Soul Sucky Thingy!" Billy shouted.

"We're definitely not naming it the soul sucky thingy." Mandy said as she lowered her eyes. She felt stupid just saying it.

Billy jumped down from his seat and sprawled himself out on the floor in front of Mandy's throne, "Please, Mandy! Let me name the machine, I want to help revolutio-mah-nize reaping, too!" He begged.

Mandy rolled her eyes, "Whatever. We'll call it…whatever you said you wanted to call it." She said in a low voice. She couldn't think of another name anyway.

Billy's face lit up and he jumped back into his throne as his body guards rushed back to surround him.

"More root beer, sir?" One of the demons asked in a deep voice.

Billy tilted back his head and opened his mouth as he guzzled more root beer. Mandy pointed a finger at one of the lingering creatures around the two thrones.

"You! Get me some lemonade." She ordered. The creature bowed nervously and hurried out of sight.

Billy sat back in his throne; he seemed content again, but still looked a little worried.

"I still miss Grim, though…" He said quietly to himself.

* * *

Hoss' monster truck sped through an endless desert under the scorching sun. A group of vultures hastily followed the moving cloud of sand below them, hoping to get a meal. 

"We've been driving through this desert for hours." Grim complained. "I have sand in between every bone in my body! We're obviously lost…"

"Hoss Delgado doesn't get lost." Hoss said stubbornly, referring to himself in the third person.

"Let's just ask for directions." Grim suggested.

Hoss started to get angry, "We don't need to ask for directions."

"Why do you have a problem with asking for directions?" Grim asked, his voice becoming more high-pitched.

"Because there's no one around for miles and even if there was I wouldn't ask them for directions because we're not lost!" He shouted as he swerved into some cactuses, which hit against the windshield.

"Stop yelling at me!" Grim cried, his voice sounding more effeminate.

Hoss stared out in front of him, trying to ignore Grim as he sobbed. He couldn't help but feel guilty for yelling at him.

"Grim, I'm sorry I got angry at you." He said as he put his arm around Grim's shoulder. "How about this: tomorrow night we'll go to a restaurant and have a nice steak dinner. Just you and me."

Grim wiped the tears out of his eyes, "Really?" He asked as a smile began to form on his face.

Hoss smiled and nodded his head. Grim smiled back, but his smile quickly turned into a frown. Something wasn't right.

"Wait a second…get away from me you creep!" Grim shouted as he pushed Hoss' arm away.

Both of them stared angrily out the window for a few minutes, until Grim broke the silence.

"I thought you knew about another way into the Underworld."

"Why me? You're supposed to be the Grim Reaper." Hoss retorted.

Grim felt too angry to even speak to Hoss, but then he remembered something.

"What about Las Vegas? I heard something about Las Vegas being an alternative entrance into the Underworld. Or was it Los Angeles?"

"Sin City sounds about right." Hoss agreed. "I just don't know how to get there if I don't know what part of the country we're in."

"I have no clue where we are right now." Grim said as he looked out at the desert, which seemed to go for miles in every direction.

"What state is Endsville in?" Hoss wondered.

Grim thought about it for a while, "You know what, I've never looked into it."

"What do you mean you've never looked into it, what is wrong with you!"

"I just didn't think it was important!"

Hoss muttered angrily to himself as he continued driving, trying not to get angry again.

"Well, we must be near the west coast if we're in the desert…" He said between clenched teeth.

"You're forgetting about the great deserts of the east coast." Grim reminded him.

Hoss was trembling in rage, but he managed to control himself.

"I guess we'll get to Las Vegas eventually…" He said as he turned the truck around and drove in the opposite direction.

* * *

It took hours (or maybe days, it depends), but Grim and Hoss Delgado finally arrived in Las Vegas. They were greeted by the 'Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas Nevada' sign as they drove into the city. It was already nightfall, and the thousands of lights and signs that covered every building in sight made it seem as if the entire city were glowing. Hoss drove down the congested main road, parking on top of two small cars, which were crushed under the weight of his truck. Grim's eyes widened as he stepped down to the sidewalk and stared at the colorful casino buildings that lined the streets. 

Hoss didn't pay attention to the sights around him, "Alright, now that we're here it's time to-"

Grim interrupted, "GAMBLE GAMBLE GAMBLE!" He screamed as he ran full speed into one of the many casinos.

Hoss had no choice but to follow him as they weaved through security guards and gamblers. Grim shoved innocent people to the ground as he made his way towards the slot machines. He stopped running to admire the endless rows of golden slot machines that sat in the back of the casino. He ignored Hoss, who was running close behind him, and stuffed some money into the machine. He pulled the lever and watched the three spinning reels in the center, hoping to get the jack pot. He didn't of course, so he inserted more money and tried again.

"I really think we should look for a portal to the Underworld…" Hoss said as he tried to catch his breath.

"You go do that." Grim said quickly, not taking his eye sockets off the slot machine.

Hoss looked at him as he pulled the lever again (still no jack pot). He shook his head and walked off, leaving Grim behind. As he moved farther away he could hear Grim say 'darn it' and then the sound of a lever being pulled again.

Hoss returned a few hours later being carried by two security guards.

"Does he belong to you?" One of the guards asked Grim, who was still glued to the slot machine.

Grim didn't reply, so the guards simply dropped Hoss to the ground. Hoss was covered in bruises and cuts, as if he had been in a fight. He coughed weakly while he tried to stand up, almost falling back on the floor again.

"I've been beaten up, mauled by tigers, and married four times, but I think I've found the portal." He said slowly, revealing some missing teeth.

"Yeah, that's great Hoss. Do you have some cash I could borrow?" Grim asked, continuously tapping Hoss on the shoulder.

"Umm…no."

"That's fine, just help me get my femur into the coin slot." Grim said as he tried to jam one of his leg bones into the machine while balancing on one foot.

"Look pal, I think we should be going now." Hoss said fiercely as he smacked the femur out of Grim's hand.

"Do you think I got a gambling problem!" Grim shouted angrily as he tried to put his leg back together.

Hoss just stared at him as one of the security guards returned.

"Alright buddy, it's time to go." The guard said as hepulled Grim away.

Grim started to get hysterical, "Wait! It's my lucky day! STOP! THOSE KIDS CAN HAVE MY JOB, I JUST WANT TO GAMBLE! I NEED IT! I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THAT MACHINE!" He continued to shriek as the guard dragged him out of the casino and threw him onto the street, where he landed in a pile of bones.

As Grim calmed down and slowly began to put himself together he noticed a large building across the street that had smoke coming out of it. The building was surrounded by police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances; all with their sirens and lights on. Firefighters, paramedics, police officers and even a SWAT team surrounded and patrolled the area.

"What happened here?" Grim asked.

Hoss wasn't even paying attention, "What? Oh, that. I had to take care of two aliens while you were gambling. They were trying to raise an unholy army of mutated white tigers, but I put a stop to that." He replied.

Grim looked at the billboards and posters that covered the building, "They weren't aliens! They were…" Grim stopped suddenly. "Never mind…"

"Whatever. No human I know would dress like that…" Hoss said coldly.

They both crept passed the scene of the crime and moved down the sidewalk. Hoss pointed towards a small bar on the corner of street. There was a large red-neon sign in front of the bar that read, 'The Devil'. There was a small, neon devil next to the lettering on the sign.

"This is the place." Hoss said as he opened the door.

Inside the bar was dimly lit and filled with cigarette smoke. There were a number of suspicious looking people sitting at the barstools and tables, each one glaring at Grim and Hoss as they stepped inside. Their eyes followed them as they moved towards the back of the room. A scantily clad woman with heavy makeup approached Grim as he walked past one of the tables.

"Hey, honey. What's your name?" She asked.

Grim stopped walking and smiled stupidly at the woman. Hoss quickly pulled him away from her and into the bathroom, which was even more disgusting than the bar itself. The walls were covered in mold, the mirrors were shattered, the floor was covered in mud (or worse), and Grim swore he saw a rat jump out of one of the toilets.

"I think this is it." Hoss said, stopping in front of one of the overflowing toilets.

"I'm not going in that thing!" Grim shouted as Hoss lifted his boots into the murky water of the toilet bowl.

"I've seen scarier things than this." Hoss said in a melodramatic voice as he flushed the toilet, which pulled him down into the pipes.

Grim walked over to the toilet and looked into it. Hoss Delgado was nowhere to be seen.

"This is disgusting." He muttered to himself.

As Grim looked closer, Hoss' metal hand burst out of the toilet and grabbed Grim's eye sockets. Grim was helpless as he was pulled into the toilet, which was about to lead him to his old home.

**Arg, I don't really like this chapter. There's something wrong with it, I'm just not entirely sure what it is. To tell you the truth, I'm starting to get nervous about this story. It started out well, but now that I'm coming towards the final chapters I'm starting to get worried. It's not that I don't have an ending in mind, it's just that I don't know how I'm going to write it or how good it will be. I got the same feeling about the later chapters of my last story, too (I was worried about that story from the beginning, though). I'M GETTIN' NERVOUS, MAN! Oh well, who cares.**

**Response to almostinsane's review: No, God probably won't be in the story. At least I don't plan on putting him in. I'm not really sure why I mentioned him in the last chapter. WAIT, FORGET I SAID THAT! I might put him in one of the later chapters, but only briefly. He wouldn't be a major character in the story or anything like that. By the way, what did you think was creepy? The Underworld scene or the fact that Hoss Delgado used to be a woman? Just curious. Thanks once again.**

**Thank you all for reading.**

**HOORAY, NEW EPISODE TONIGHT! (god I hope it's a good one)**


	7. Anarchy!

**Gnywgeygcfnygncuyewgfcyreyvnerfyngreimvgf! Meh, I got nothin'. I hope you enjoy chapter seven.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 7: Anarchy!

A bright light appeared from below as Grim fell towards the Underworld. It grew larger as he came closer, until he finally fell through it and collided with the ground. Grim got up slowly and rearranged some of the bones under his robe, which had been dislodged during the impact. He looked over to his left, where Hoss lay on the ground with his face smashed up against a rock.

They both stood on the outskirts of the Underworld, a vast wasteland of boulders and solid rock littered with endless tunnels and caverns. There were no fires or pools of magma like there were in the center of the Underworld, so the temperature was below freezing.

"Where is everybody?" Grim wondered as he realized that they were the only living things around for miles. The outskirts weren't usually inhabited by many creatures, but Grim always used to see a demon or two fly into one of the tunnels back when he spent most of his time in the Underworld.

Hoss didn't say anything. He would look behind his shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one else was there and he kept raising his chainsaw-crossbow every time they turned a corner. Hoss had a sixth sense for supernatural activity, so naturally he was on high alert as he treaded through the home of all things supernatural.

They kept walking for another hour before they reached the gates of the Underworld, which rose hundreds of feet into the air. Grim had helped build it thousands of years ago out of the twisted, black metal that was abundant in the area. The gates still stood as a monument to the power of the realm, but the three headed beast that usually guarded it was absent. In his place was an empty reception desk positioned right in front of the gate.

Grim walked up to the desk and looked at the empty chair behind it. He brought his hand up and rang the silver bell on the corner of the table. A tiny gremlin emerged from underneath the table after the ringing stopped and looked up at them with a frown.

"What do you want?" The gremlin rudely asked.

Hoss pushed Grim to the ground before he could answer and stepped up the gremlin with a scowl on his face. He picked up the gremlin with his metal hand so they could see each other eye to eye.

"Me and 'Wacko Jacko' here want into this joint, got it little man?" Hoss uttered one of his corny one-liners. The gremlin didn't look intimidated as he dangled from Hoss' hand.

"I told you, I'm the Grim Reaper!" Grim shouted.

The gremlin eyes widened when he heard that and he looked up to see Grim standing behind them.

"The old reaper?" The gremlin thought out loud. "This should be interesting…" He grinned mischievously as he broke free from Hoss' grip.

He jumped down from the desk and walked a slight distance away from them. It looked like he was going to open the gate himself, but instead he put his hands on both sides of his mouth and began to shout something.

"HEY! OPEN THE GATE YA FRIGGEN MORONS!" His voice had a raspy sound to it.

There was silence for a while, but someone (or something) must have heard him and the sound of machinery being operated could be heard. The piercing sound of metal scrapping against metal reverberated throughout the place while the two massive doors gradually opened.

"Follow me…" The gremlin said with that same evil smirk as he walked through the gates with Grim and Hoss trailing behind.

He led them into the flaming center of the Underworld, where all the demons were gathered. Hoss looked stunned as he stared ahead with his mouth opened slightly. He had dealt with the supernatural for most of his adult life, but what he saw was overwhelming him.

To Grim, this was something he had seen many times before. Everything looked the same as it had been when he ruled the Underworld, with the exception of the two thrones in the center. Grim already knew who those thrones belonged to.

"I think you're going to like this." The gremlin said as he turned towards Grim and winked. He started to make a path through the mass of creatures for Grim and Hoss to walk through.

As Grim passed by all the creatures pointed and stared at him, whispering amongst themselves. Grim felt humiliated, as if he were being paraded in front of an unruly mob (which was pretty close to what was actually happening). He avoided the thousands of staring eyes and continued to follow the gremlin deeper into the crowd.

The low, rumbling sound of a horn being blown appeared and all the creatures went silent. The horn's echo lingered a few moments longer as all the creatures backed away from the two thrones and pressed up against the walls. Grim noticed a stone ledge all the way across from him and saw two giant trolls sitting on top of it, pounding on equally large drums. The ground shook with each drumbeat as two groups of minotaurs marched onto the platform where the two thrones sat. They were the reaper's bodyguards; each one armed with a large spear. They looked like disciplined soldiers as they lined up on each side of the path that led to the thrones.

All the creatures stared silently at a cavern that went through the ceiling, as if they were anticipating something to come out of it any second. Grim watched as the inside of the cavern started to light up, the same way a subway lights up when a train passes through (like that analogy?). A rattling sound was audible and appeared to be coming from inside the cavern. The noise became louder and louder until a flying chariot emerged out of the opening and soared downwards. It was the Grim Reaper's chariot; made out of the same material as the Underworld gates and lined with spikes. The base of the chariot was shaped like a giant skull (like everything else), supported by two heavy wheels that were also lined with spikes. The chariot itself was pulled by six flaming horses that flew around in circles before landing on the ground below.

All the creatures exploded into a frenzied applause as the chariot's wheels touched the ground, creating a shower of sparks. Grim had been a part of countless ceremonies just like this one, but he had never seen the creatures of the Underworld react this way before. Hoss stared blankly at it all, it was simply too much for his mind to handle.

The end of the ceremony seemed rather anticlimactic as Billy clumsily fell out of the chariot while laughing like an idiot. Mandy's entrance was far more dramatic as she slowly opened the chariot door, taking her time while she stepped down to the ground. Her black hood covered most of her face, but Grim could still see her evil expression. She walked between the two lines of bodyguards, inspecting her 'soldiers' as she passed by.

Billy ran up next to Mandy as they made their way towards the thrones. He slowly reached over and held her hand as a stupid smile appeared on his face. Mandy's expression didn't change, in fact she didn't even look over at Billy, but she obviously didn't appreciate his kindness. She tightened her grip on his hand until the sound of bones cracking could be heard, then she smacked it out of the way and sat down on her own throne. Billy shook his crushed hand and smiled again before he jumped up on his throne.

Two demons flew in with Mandy's scythe in their hands, which they handed to her. Two other scythe carrying demons hovered above Billy, who was occupying himself by picking his nose. The demons looked at each before dropping the scythe on Billy's head.

The entire Underworld was dead silent, (Get it? _Dead _silent? Huh? Huh? Get it? 'Cause it's like, the Underworld, so it's like, there's a lot of dead people in there. Yeah!) waiting for one of the reapers to speak. Mandy motioned to her bodyguards, who rushed over and grabbed Grim and Hoss. They dragged the two over to the reapers and threw them on the ground. Mandy raised her hand again and the guards backed away.

"It's good to see you again, Grim." She cynically greeted him. "I was wondering when you would come to visit us."

"It's time to stop playing games, you little monster!" Grim yelled as he lifted himself up off the ground.

As Grim approached the thrones, Mandy calmly pointed her scythe at him. Some kind of strange, translucent rope materialized at the tip of Mandy's scythe and floated towards Grim. As it moved closer, Grim noticed that the 'rope' appeared to be in the form of a serpent, complete with fangs and a forked tongue. The snake wrapped itself around his body, binding his arms. Two more snakes appeared and drifted towards Hoss, who didn't try to struggle as they tied his hands and feet together. Grim realized he wasn't in a position to bargain as he glanced over at Mandy's heavily armed minions, who surrounded him.

Mandy brought her scythe back to her side and continued speaking, "I'll admit I enjoyed humiliating you day after day, but I think I'll get the most satisfaction out of watching you bow before me." Mandy rarely every smiled, but she couldn't help but give Grim an evil smirk.

Billy sat slumped in his chair, still emphatically picking his nose. He pulled his finger out and rubbed it against the bottom of the throne before sighing loudly. There was something else on his mind and he wasn't paying attention to Mandy or Grim.

"If only Grim were still alive…" He said forlornly.

"I'm right here, you idiot!" Grim shouted.

Billy perked up when he heard Grim's voice, "HEY GRIM!" He exclaimed as he waved his hand. "Why you tied up like that?"

Mandy elbowed Billy in the face and turned her attention back to Grim, "I wasn't joking, Grim. You're powerless here without your scythe. You _will _kneel before me." Her voice became darker with each sentence.

"I gots half of the scythe right here!" Billy shouted as he threw his old scythe in Grim's direction.

Grim closed his eyes as the scythe swung closer to his head, preparing for the worst. He opened his eyes shortly afterwards to see the weapon floating out in front of him. The scythe began to move by itself as if it were possessed, first circling around Grim and then cutting him free with a series of rapid strikes. Grim grabbed the tiny scythe with both hands, trying not look at the dried snot that covered the handle and blade or think about how it got there.

Mandy was furious at Billy for giving Grim the scythe, but she maintained her cold demeanor.

"Half a scythe won't get you very far, Grim." She said calmly, though she tightened her grip on her own scythe.

"I found the other half, too!" Billy shouted once more as he tossed the other half of the scythe at Grim, who caught it with his empty hand.

Grim almost dropped the scythe in disgust when he brought it up to his face. The blade smelled horrible and seemed to be attracting a swarm of flies.

"What did you do to this thing, Billy?" Grim asked while trying not to vomit.

Billy shrugged, "I found it in a big pile of mud that Cerberus left behind!"

Grim honestly didn't care about what Billy had done with his scythes over the past week, he was just glad to have them back. He held the scythes in each hand and smashed them together so that they merged into one.

"Did ya miss me Jody?" Grim asked tenderly. "Daddy's here for you now." He held the scythe close and kissed the blade.

Mandy grabbed Billy by the nose and pulled him over to her throne, "After I destroy Grim, I'm going to eviscerate you and strangle you with your own intestines until you squeal like a pig." She was so enraged that her voice was shaking.

"Awwww, you're my best friend too, Mandy." Billy said cheerfully.

Mandy growled angrily before kicking Billy back into his throne. She lifted up her scythe and turned towards Grim, who had finished reconciling with 'Jody'. Not another word was spoken as she fired a blast of energy at Grim, which knocked him backwards into one of the minotaur bodyguards. Grim looked up at the bodyguard and smiled weakly before it sent him to the floor with the end of it's spear.

Grim recovered quickly and returned fire, but his shot ricocheted away from Mandy before it got too close. Mandy was obviously protected by some kind of force field.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Grim shouted rather childishly.

"You're just jealous because my scythe is better than yours is." Mandy replied.

"Satan, Mandy's not playing fair!" Grim cried.

A black portal appeared in the middle of the floor and the Prince of Darkness emerged in an eruption of flames.

"Be nice to Grim, Mandy." Satan scolded before disappearing into the abyss.

Mandy ignored the devil and fired a bolt of lightening from her scythe, which electrocuted Grim and knocked his scythe out of his hands. He collapsed onto the floor as smoke drifted from his charred bones. Grim lay half paralyzed on the ground, but he still had enough strength to try and reach for his weapon. Before he could grab the handle, Mandy's foot landed forcibly on his hand, pinning it to the floor.

"It's a shame I have to kill, you Grim." Mandy said as she tapped his skull with her scythe blade. "You could have been useful for something…"

Grim painfully looked up at Mandy and noticed that half her face was visible, while the other half was veiled in shadow, much like that scene from Star Wars Episode Six: The Return of the Jedi. That conveniently reminded Grim of his Jedi knight powers and he lifted up his head as strength returned to his bones. He hadn't spent countless years of his life watching Star Wars, training at the Jedi Academy, and stalking Mr. Lucas just to get beaten up by some bratty, nose-less little punk. He extended his other hand towards his scythe and concentrated deeply. The scythe slowly lifted off the ground until it levitated into Grim's hand, just in time for him to block Mandy's scythe, which was about to cleave his skull.

Grim and Mandy were deadlocked; both of their scythe blades crossed in front of their faces. They stayed like this for quite some time, neither one daring to look away from the other. It was actually rather awkward for the spectators, who watched in confusion as both combatants remained silent.

Finally, a small creature stepped forward, "I have a solution to this problem that will decide who gets to be the Grim Reaper once and for all…" The creature had an annoying, nasally voice.

The creature was barely a foot tall and closely resembled something that Billy might pull out of his nose. Everyone in the Underworld, including Mandy and Grim, stared at the creature with a surprised expression.

Billy walked up to the thing and stuffed it into his mouth before it could finish it's proposal. He vigorously chewed the creature like a wad of gum before swallowing it whole. As Billy digested the poor fellow, his stomach made a number of loud gurgling noises, which he silenced with a belch that was even louder.

The Underworld's attention had shifted entirely over to Billy, who wiped the slime off his lips. He wore a satisfied expression as he used his scythe to pick his teeth clean. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he threw his scythe down on the ground.

"I got an idea, dudes!" He shouted in excitement. "How about we go back to Endsville and have a reaper contest: who ever reaps the most peoples gets to be the Grim Reaper FOREVER!"

"Billy, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Grim said with a frown. "Let's do it."

"That's fine with me." Mandy said as she lifted up her scythe blade and allowed Grim to stand back up.

Mandy opened up a huge portal with her scythe that swallowed her, Billy, Grim, and a few other spectators. The Underworld was quiet again after the portal disappeared. The creatures and demons of the Underworld looked at each other, but not a single one spoke. Each one wondered the same thing: 'What just happened?'

**Uhhhhhhh, make it stop! Whoa, this is first time I haven't used any of those line divider things since chapter 1 of Mandy's Addiction...**

**Response to Anime master Inu's review: Ew? What the hell is that supposed to mean:) Just kidding, I just want to know what you're referring to when you say that. I mean, I didn't really like that chapter, but I would still like to know what part of it made you say 'ew'. Anyways, thank you for the review (and your first review as well.)**

**Response to almostinsane's review: Crap, I knew I should have capitalized the 'him' when I referred to God. WHY DIDN'T I DO IT? Well, I'll remember to capitalize that if God appears in this story again. Thanks.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	8. Divine Intervention

**HOLY CRAP, MANDY'S ADDICTION GOT ITS TENTH REVIEW! I am now content. Thank you, grimandmandy4ever. Wait a second…GRIM AND MANDY! WHAT THE HELL! Oh well, I forgive you. Thanks again.**

**Time to get back to this story. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter. **

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 8: Divine Intervention

The omnipotent silence around Endsville was shattered by a large, green explosion that left a scorched crater in the middle of the neighborhood. Dark figures with indeterminable features were visible through the smoke that surrounded the site of the explosion.

As the smog lifted the figures took the form of Cerberus, Hoss, a small grouping of demons, and the contending reapers.

"Well, here we are." Mandy said lowly. She had been away from Endsville for less than a week, but it looked foreign to her after living in the Underworld.

Grim almost fell backwards when he saw Cerberus standing over him with drool dripping from his massive jaws, "Hey, what is Cerberus doing-SWEET JESUS, WHAT IS THAT THING ON HIS BACK?" He screamed as he pointed to the machine strapped to the canine's back.

"I'm glad you noticed it." Mandy said darkly, finally able to reveal her invention to Grim. "It's my innovative creation that can automatically suck souls out of their bodies."

Her eyes widened when she looked back at Cerberus, who was relieving himself on a convertible, which burst into flames on contact.

Grim looked at the soul machine with fascination as he carefully stepped towards it, "A machine that can extract souls? What's it called?" He asked.

Mandy hesitated, "Well…it's called the…Soul…Sucky…Thingy…" She said quietly as she covered her face. Billy smiled proudly in the background.

"You named it the 'Soul Sucky Thingy'…" Grim said as he stared blankly at her.

Mandy gritted her teeth and slowly nodded.

Grim waited a moment, then spoke again, "Let me guess, you let Billy name it."

Mandy's face contorted even more and she painfully nodded her head again.

"That's pretty pathetic…"

Mandy growled furiously and turned towards Cerberus, "Sit." She commanded.

Cerberus obeyed immediately, causing the ground to tremble as he sat down. Mandy grabbed Billy and dragged him up to the top of the machine, where there were two seats. She threw him into the back seat and then climbed into the front seat, where the controls were located.

"I think we'll all know who's pathetic after this, Grim." She said before ordering Cerberus to stand up.

"Oh! Oh! Is it me? Is it me?" Billy asked while her jumped up and down in his seat.

"Don't make me come back there!" Mandy yelled back while she put her hands on the controls.

The machine had not been turned on yet, but Grim was already impressed. He had never seen Cerberus listen to anybody before.

One of the demons that had teleported with them began to speak, "Remember, whoever reaps the most people-" His sentence ended prematurely as Cerberus crushed him and the other demons.

Mandy pressed a single button on the control panel and a long tube extended out from the machine. The tube pointed itself in the direction of a nearby house, as if it had a mind of its own. It not only looked like a vacuum cleaner, it operated like one as well as it sucked in all the air around the house. Flowers and shrubs were ripped from the ground and pulled into the tube, which was moving closer to the building. The intake of air intensified to the point where windows and doors were being torn off and fed into the device.

There were a number of shrill screams and it was only a matter of time before the souls of an entire family appeared from inside the house. The floating spirits tried to resist, but they had no hope of escaping and were pulled into the tube. Wails and sobbing could still be heard from inside.

Grim stood motionless as he watched the bushes, windows, doors, and other unwanted debris from the house exit from a chute on the back of the contraption. He was mesmerized by the sheer power of the reaping machine as he saw the souls of another family cruelly ripped from their bodies.

Grim realized that if he wanted to get his job back he had to stop admiring Mandy's invention and start reaping some souls of his own. He ran towards a house on the corner and slammed his fists repeatedly on the front door.

No sound or voice came from inside the house and he started to panic. He knocked once more, but there was still no answer.

"Come on, come on…somebody come to the door…" He begged quietly after glancing over at Cerberus, who was already down the street.

After a few more agonizing seconds, the door was opened by a balding, middle-aged man.

"Oh, no. Not another one." The man said irately. "Look, I told you kids to never come back here again!"

"Excuse me, sir, but you look like you're around the right age." Grim said rather politely. "How old are you, may I ask?"

The man looked taken aback, "I'm…fifty-five." He stammered. "What's all this about, anyway?" You trying to sell me something?"

"Fifty-five sounds old enough, I would say you've lived a good life." Grim said as he raised his scythe.

A look of dread shot across the man's face as he stepped away from Grim, who wore a sinister grin. Grim swung his scythe with his all the strength he had, but it didn't appear to have any effect. He looked a little embarrassed as he raised his scythe and tried once more, only to miss the man again. Instead, he sliced the air above him.

Grim laughed nervously while the man stared at him with a puzzled expression. The reaper positioned his scythe above the man's head one last time before bringing it down in a smooth cutting motion. This time the would-be victim lowered his head and easily avoided the blade of the scythe for a third time.

"Stupid thing must be broken." Grim said in frustration as he inspected the edge of the scythe blade. That wasn't what the problem was, and Grim knew it. He knew that he had lost most of his reapers powers when Billy and Mandy were initiated. He also knew that he would become weaker with each passing day as long as they kept his old job.

The man took this opportunity to look around the room for something to defend himself with. His eyes darted towards a candlestick that stood on the mantel next to him. He picked it up with trembling hands and hurled it at the reaper's face.

"That hit me in the face!" Grim whined. "My beautiful face!" He covered the middle of his face with both of his skeletal hands.

Grim stumbled backwards towards the open door before being knocked into the front yard by a single kick.

"Get off of my property!" The man yelled as he threw the scythe into the front yard, right next to Grim. He slammed the door closed without saying another word.

Grim tried to ignore the sharp pain around his face and chest as he lay in the grass. He felt weak and tired, and almost fell asleep in the middle of the yard. Just as his eye sockets began to close he was awoken by what sounded like another loud explosion. He looked up see a cloud of dust and smoke rising from the rumble of a house that Cerberus had just demolished. Grim noticed that all six tubes on the machine strapped to the dog's back were engaged, each one bringing in a long line of glowing souls.

He reached for his scythe and jumped to his feet. He had to reap at least one soul, but he needed some help. He spotted Hoss Delgado in the distance with his hands and feet still tied together.

"Hoss, I need you to do me another favor!" Grim shouted as he ran up to him.

Hoss stood perfectly still; he didn't respond to Grim and was obviously still in a daze after visiting the Underworld.

"Did you hear me, Hoss?" Grim asked as he frantically shook him. "I need you to help me reap some souls before its too late!"

Hoss' mouth opened slightly and he began to drool. Grim realized there was no point in trying to wake him. He shoved Hoss to ground searched for another soul to reap.

A small toddler riding his tricycle down the sidewalk caught Grim's attention. He darted in front of the child and crouched down so that they were both at the same eye level.

"Hey, little fella." Grim said to the small child, trying to sound friendly ( which was something he wasn't very good at.) "How would you like to come back with me to the Underworld?"

The kid looked up from the ice cream cone he held in his hand and stared at Grim with his large, frightened eyes.

"Would you like to go to the Underworld?" Grim asked as he tried to maintain his pleasant demeanor. "All I have to do is ripped out your immortal soul from that fleshy bag of meat you call body."

The toddler's eyes widened even more and a small tear could be seen rolling down his cheek before mixing with the melted ice cream that covered his mouth.

"Alright kid, do you want me to get angry?" Grim asked as he usual dark voice returned. "Because I'll get angry if you don't-"

One of the tubes from the reaper machine appeared in front of them and then positioned itself right behind Grim's hooded skull, interrupting his conversation with the little boy. There was a loud intake of air as half of Grim's body was brought up inside the tube. The toddler watched as Grim struggled inside the tube; kicking the sides of it and letting out a series of muffled yells.

Grim's scythe, which had been laying on the sidewalk, sprung to life and sliced off a large portion of the tube, freeing it's master. Grim crawled out of the severed piece of tube and brushed himself off. Before he even faced the small toddler again there was another intake of air that threw him to the ground. Grim held on to the curb of the sidewalk as everything else around him was sucked into the shortened tube. Grim turned to look at the toddler, who was trying to hold onto the handle bars of his tricycle. The boy didn't have a chance and his tiny soul was slowly dragged out of his body and sent up into machine along with his ice cream cone.

* * *

Billy looked down at the reaper machine, which he was still sitting on. He had seen the little boy's ice cream cone that had been brought inside the machine and he wanted it for himself. He looked over at Mandy, who was too busy with the controls to notice him leaving, before he jumped out of his chair and carefully crawled down to the other end of the machine where a small door was located. The screams and moans of dozens of souls could easily be heard as Billy pried open the door and step inside. He didn't mind rummaging through the souls inside the machine as he searched for the treasured ice cream. Some of them clawed harmlessly at his face as dunked his head into the mass of souls, until he found what was looking for. The soul of a little boy was trying to hold onto the ice cream cone, but it fell through his ghostly fingers every time. 

"Hey, that's my ice cream!" Billy shouted as he pushed the soul out of the way and grabbed the frozen treat.

Billy dragged himself out of the machine and closed the door before anything had a chance to escaped. Mandy looked back at him as he sat down in his seat behind her.

"What have you been doing?" She asked angrily.

"Just gettin' some PRE-LICKED ICE CREAM!" He shouted just before he shoved the ice cream up his nose.

Mandy turned back towards the control panel and ordered Cerberus to move further down the street.

Down below, Grim was able to get up from the sidewalk as the reaper machine went in the opposite direction. He saw Cerberus carrying the machine farther and farther into Endsville, collecting countless souls and leaving behind a path of destroyed houses. Grim realized that he would never be able to reap any souls as on long as Mandy was using her invention. Grim thought that he could make the competition a little less one-sided if he was somehow able to sabotage the machine.

Cerberus made a number of frequent stops throughout Endsville to make sure that every soul was reaped from every household, so Grim was able to catch up with him fairly quickly. Grim slowed to a walk as he approached, not wanting to be seen by the giant dog. He had no plan for disabling the machine, so he tried throwing pebbles at it. That didn't work of course, so then he tried shouting insults at it, but that didn't work either (surprisingly).

Finally, Grim decided to try and climb up the machine and overthrow the two reapers on top of it. He managed to keep up with Cerberus, whose thunderous foot steps made craters in the ground. Grim was about to grab onto to Cerberus' leg when the dog's tail crashed into a building right next to him.

Grim was showered with dust, bricks, and broken glass as the entire top half of the building collapsed. Covered in dust and debris, he could only watch as Cerberus and the reaper machine moved into the center of Endsville.

The six tubes on the machine rose high into the air to reap the remaining souls in Endsville. Streams of souls floated from every building and house as they were collected one at a time by the tubes. Grim stared at the what looked like hundreds of souls as they were slowly consumed. After a while the town was silent, there was no one left to reap in Endsville.

Grim wrapped both hands around his scythe and lowered his head; it was obvious that he had lost. When he raised his head he saw Mandy standing over him, with Billy and a growling Cerberus standing not far behind her.

"I've reaped every soul in Endsville." She said unsympathetically. "It's over, Grim."

Grim didn't reply, he just lowered his eyes and stared at his scythe again.

Billy couldn't quite grasp what had happened earlier, "Wait, we reap everyone in town? What about my mom and dad?"

"Don't be stupid, of course we reaped your mom and dad." Mandy snapped.

Billy started to panic, "We gotta get them back, Mandy! What about your mom and dad and Irwin and…" He sniffed loudly as he tried to hold back tears. "AND SPERG'S MOM!"

Mandy looked at Billy, who was sobbing on the ground, then she turned back to Grim. She was about to say something, but Grim interrupted her.

"You can't reap everybody like that, it's against the rules!" It hadn't occurred to him earlier that there were rules that reapers had to follow.

"What rules?" Mandy asked sharply.

"That guy's rules." Grim replied as he pointed up towards the sky.

Mandy raised an eyebrow and looked up at the sky. After a few seconds she understood who he meant.

"Oh…His rules." She said blankly. "I'm above His rules."

"I wouldn't say that if I were you." Grim warned.

Mandy scoffed, "Why? What is He going to do about it?"

"Um…Mandy." Billy said in weak voice as he stepped next to her. "I don't think you should say that kind of stuff…" Billy was mercilessly stupid, but even he knew you shouldn't insult the Almighty.

"You two need to grow up." She said as she pushed Billy aside. "God is powerless against the Underworld."

"Watch your mouth, girl!" Grim shouted one last warning as dark thunder clouds appeared above them.

"_I'm _more powerful than God…" She said forebodingly as she turned towards the skies again. Her voice seemed to echo throughout Endsville.

A bolt of lightened shot from one of the dark clouds and landing right in front of Mandy's feet. She rubbed her eyes, which were temporarily blinded by the sudden flash of light. When her vision returned she noticed the smoking patch of dirt right in front of her.

Mandy clenched her fists and a scowl appeared on her face. She wasn't as invincible as she had thought.

"Billy…release all the souls…" She said in strained voice. She kept her face hidden behind her cloak and didn't turn to face either Billy or Grim.

"I GETS TO PRESS THE BUTTON!" Billy exclaimed as he ran over to Cerberus and climbed up his leg (which Cerberus didn't appreciate). The machine on his back was full to bursting point with souls and it emitted a dull blue glow.

Billy went over to the control panel of the machine and slammed his fist on a large red button. He giggled above the noise as jets of steam emitted from the machine, which was shaking violently.

The tubes along each side of the machine rose up one last time and released all the souls. Each one made a loud coughing sound as hundreds of souls were shot into the air. The freed spirits collided with buildings, trees, and each other as they left the machine, but they all managed to adjust themselves and find their own bodies.

Grim saw a very small soul drift towards the body of the little boy he had talked to earlier. The soul returned to the child's motionless body, which had been lying on the sidewalk. The boy got up slowly, then tried to look for his ice cream cone and tricycle, which had disappeared. He looked from left to right, then ran screaming down the street.

Billy jumped down from the inactive machine with a sense of accomplishment. He and Grim both looked at Mandy, who had her eyes closed. She was leaning her head against her scythe and remained silent. No one spoke a word as she prepared to create another portal to send them all back to the Underworld.

**Uhhhhhhh…..you know what, I'm not going to say anything about this chapter (except that it was longer than I thought it would be).**

**The ninth chapter (the next chapter) might be the last one, but if that's the case than it should be a very long chapter. I might just make this story ten chapters long , in which case chapter nine would probably be rather short and chapter ten would be the last chapter. We shall see.**

**That's about it, Thanks for reading.**


	9. Schism

**UPDATE: I have changed the story rating from K+ to T. You will know why by the end of this chapter. I made this decision because the story is going to contain some things that I don't think are appropriate for younger readers (nothing too bad, I just don't think it's appropriate for a K+ audience). I might be overreacting, but I want to be safe and I've been worried that some of the content in previous chapters wasn't necessarily appropriate for a K+ rated story either. If you are under the age of thirteen and you are unhappy with this decision, please let me know and I will do my best to ignore you. Honestly though, maybe I'll try to make a 'K+ friendly' ending to the story (though I don't think that many people under 13 read this). Enough of that serious crap, time for the next chapter.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 9: Schism

The creatures of the Underworld were still crowded around the two thrones, just as they had been before. They all looked bored and restless, but none of them spoke a word.

One of the demons flying above was becoming impatient, "So…when do you think they'll be back?" He asked, hoping to get a response from one of the many creatures standing motionless below him.

There was no answer, but one of the minotaur guards asked another question, "Do you think we're supposed to do something while they're away?" The other minotaurs looked at each other, but didn't move or speak.

A large portal appeared and all the creatures knew that their agonizing wait was over. Cerberus was the first one out of the portal and the crowd backed away quickly to make room for him. The dog was followed by the three reapers, who were than followed by Hoss, who stumbled out of the portal just before it evaporated. The entire Underworld remained silent, even with the arrival of the reapers. Mandy looked down at the ground with the same expression she had when God intervened with her plans only a few minutes earlier. Grim looked very solemn, unsure of his fate as a reaper. Billy sat on the ground, trying to clean his ears with his scythe blade.

The entire Underworld watched them in confusion; they had been expecting a loud, triumphant return from the two young reapers.

"Well, what happened?" One of the demons screamed, unable to contain himself any longer.

Mandy slowly turned to look up at Grim, "I'll tell you what happened. Grim lost the competition." She spoke slowly and quietly, her voice almost shaking. She wasn't going to let anyone else find out what happened back in Endsville.

There was a chorus of cheers around the Underworld after the announcement of Grim's defeat.

"Hand over your scythe, Grim." Mandy said quickly with her hand outstretched in front of her. "You don't have any other choice."

Grim glanced down at Mandy, then up at the innumerable creatures that stared at him in anticipation. His eyes frantically shot from demon to demon; Mandy was right, he didn't have any other option.

"Was I really that bad a Reaper?" He asked sadly as he realized the hopelessness of his situation.

The resounding 'YES!' from the crowd told Grim once and for all that his time as the Grim Reaper was over. He closed his eyes and extended his scythe towards his successor.

The loud shouting of an overexcited creature could be heard, "OH YEAH! Grim is about to give Mandy his scythe! All hail Mandy, lord of the Underworld!"

A second creature shouted back, "All hail Mandy? Billy's the one who should be lord of the Underworld!"

"Are you kidding me?" The first creature bellowed. "This place would fall apart if that moron were in charge!"

"Maybe the old Grim Reaper should be in charge." Suggested a small worm-like creature. Apparently, no one else shared his viewpoint and he was pummeled by the surrounding crowd.

Grim and Mandy stared wide-eyed at what was happening in front of them. They both stood still, each one had their arm still extended forward.

"Billy may be an idiot, but at least he isn't a conniving little dictator!" Was the retort of yet another creature.

"He made me clean his toes everyday!" A hovering demon screamed. "I can't even eat anymore…" The demon clutched it's face and began to sob, while other demons came over to comfort him.

Every creature in the Underworld began to take sides on the issue of who should rule the Underworld. Demons, bodyguards, and many other creatures formed two separate groups that hurled insults and threats at each other. Within seconds, two factions had formed; one supporting Mandy and the other one supporting Billy.

The opposing factions edged closer, their bickering becoming louder with each step forward. Each side chanted one last 'All hail Billy/Mandy!' before charging into each other.

Lines of advancing creatures collided together as the battle began. Minotaurs plunged their spears deep into the mass of fighting creatures while lumbering trolls crushed their foes with large clubs. The vast majority of creatures without weapons used their teeth, claws, and fists to maim one another.

Grim, Billy, and Mandy were pushed aside as the fighting intensified. They all tried to dodge the wounded demons that fell from above. Grim watched one demon's slow descent from a stalactite on the ceiling to a pool of magma on the ground. The demon sizzled the moment he touched the fiery liquid.

Meanwhile, the fighting between the creatures of the Underworld had appeared to wake Hoss Delgado from his stupor. The glazed look in his eyes disappeared and he shook his head vigorously. His muscles bulged as he tried to break free from the rope tied around him. In a few seconds the rope was ripped to pieces and Hoss was free. He attached his chainsaw to his right hand and jumped right into the middle of the battle. The roar of his weapon could be heard above everything else as he swung it in every direction, dismembering any creature that got too close to him.

Cerberus was the last one to join the melee. All three of the dog's heads plunged into the multitude of creatures and brought up a mouthful of demons as more of them were trampled by his paws. One of the dog's paw was about to do the same to Billy and Mandy, but Grim instinctively pulled them out of way and saved them from harm.

"Thanks, Grim!" Billy exclaimed with a huge smile. It was evident by the scowl on Mandy's face that she wasn't as grateful as Billy was.

* * *

Billy, Mandy, and Grim had been watching the Underworld civil war for hours and it didn't show any sign of stopping. Mandy and Grim appeared to be utterly bored as they rested their heads against a boulder and stared vacantly ahead. Billy held a large bucket full of popcorn in his arms, his face already covered in butter and bits of kernel. 

"We all knew this would happen eventually." Mandy said dully.

Grim nodded his head in agreement, but kept his eyes in front of him. It looked like all three of them were watching TV in Billy's living room instead of an epic, supernatural battle.

"I don't want to be ruler of a dump like this." Mandy said as she stood up. "Especially if I'm not the most powerful being in the Universe." She looked up as she finished speaking, though it was impossible to see the sky through the miles of rock that formed the ceiling.

Billy wiped the butter off his mouth (splattering most of it on Grim's robe) and jumped to his feet, "Yeah, it was getting boring around here anyway."

Grim's face brightened up at the sound of those words, "Really? I can be the Grim Reaper again?" He stood up, but ducked down again to avoid being hit by a demon that had been thrown in his direction.

"If that's what you want." Mandy replied. "I don't really care what you do." She hadn't intended to make Grim happy, it was something she didn't normally do.

Grim squealed with delight, "Did ya here that Jody? We got our old job back!"

Mandy massaged her temples as Grim continued to hug and kiss his scythe.

Grim brought his scythe away from his mouth and cleared his throat, "I would thank you two, if you weren't the ones who stole my job in the first place." There was some resentment in Grim's voice, but he quickly relaxed. He was the Reaper again and that's all that mattered.

"Don't think I'm doing you a favor, bonehead." Mandy snapped. "I just didn't want to spend eternity with Billy."

They all ignored the battle a few yards away from them as they walked towards the Underworld gate. They had almost reached the exit when one demon realized that they were trying to leave.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" The demon yelled, causing Billy, Mandy, and Grim to turn around.

The demon was loud enough that the entire Underworld could hear him and the other creatures immediately stopped killing each other (with the exception of Hoss, who was still slaughtering demons in the background). Many of them were missing limbs or eyes, but they didn't worry about those injuries. The only thing they cared about was why their leaders were trying to escape.

"The kids have resigned as reapers of the Underworld." Grim proudly announced. "They don't want any part in this."

The demon snickered, "Yeah right. Why should we believe you anyway? I would like to hear your explanation for why the great and all-powerful Billy and Mandy would suddenly decide to call it quits."

"He doesn't need to explain anything." Mandy said as she threw her scythe to the ground. "We quit."

A shocked murmur ran through the crowd as they turned their eye(s) toward Mandy's scythe, which had begun to vibrate. A yellow glow emitted from the weapon before it disintegrated in a burst of smoke. The same happen to Billy's scythe, which he still held in his hand. He cringed as the scythe exploded and covered him in the dust that it left behind.

A dark red glow, similar to the one from Billy and Mandy's initiation ceremony, surrounded them until the entire area was colored blood red. Strong gusts of wind appeared out of nowhere as green flames erupted from the floor of solid rock. Grim looked around nervously as a sudden earthquake began to create large cracks in the walls and cause rocks to fall from above. All of this ended with a flash of bright lightening, which struck the two reapers and stripped them of their powers.

The white light faded, revealing Billy and Mandy, whose robes had been taken and replaced with their regular clothes. Billy quickly adjusted his red hat, which sat lopsided on his head.

Grim rose to three times his normal height, casting a dark shadow over the other creatures. He let out a deep, sinister laugh while flames kicked up around his feet. He could feel strength return to his bones as he looked down at his minions.

"That's much better." He said as he lowered himself down.

Grim looked up at Cerberus and gave him a nod. Cerberus apparently understood Grim's gesture and gladly shook off the machine strapped to his back. The machine tumbled off his shoulders and landed in a pit of magma, much to Mandy's chagrin. She watched as her precious invention slowly sunk into the bright red liquid before forming a pool of melted steel.

"Don't worry about those Grim Reaper tattoos, they wash off with water." Grim said to Billy and Mandy.

"We already know." Mandy replied. "We found that out when Billy accidentally licked his off." Billy opened his mouth and pointed to the dark, skull-shaped smudge on the tip of his tongue.

Grim stared at the smudge for a moment before turning towards the grouping of creatures, "I want all of you to listen up! From now on, ever last one of you is going to treat me with respect!"

"Ummm….no, we're still going to make fun of you behind your back." One of the demons replied.

Grim angrily mumbled a string of inaudible words, before turning his back on the crowd. They had never respected him anyway, even before he met Billy and Mandy.

"Let's just go home." Grim said with a frown as he continued walking to the gates. At least everything seemed back to normal.

Hoss Delgado was still fighting demons while all this was happening and he hadn't been paying attention. He grabbed one demon by the neck while he sawed another creature in half with his chainsaw. Something caused him to turn around and notice Grim and his 'friends' right after he had uttered another corny one-liner. He threw the choking demon against a boulder and jumped in front of them just as they approached the gate.

"What do you want now, Hoss?" Grim asked drowsily. He felt too tired to yell or get angry.

"I told you I was keeping my eyes on you…" Hoss growled as he pointed his finger (errr…chainsaw) at the Reaper.

He charged forward, causing Grim to recoil fearfully. Instead of attacking, he handed Grim a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Grim asked in confusion.

"I'm taking you to court, pal." Hoss answered.

"To court? What did I do?"

"Everything you need to know is on that piece of paper." Hoss quickly explained before turning his attention back over to the top half of the demon he had sliced in two. "I see you trying to crawl away, you little devil monkey!" (tee hee. Devil monkey) He ran towards the screaming demon before Grim could ask another question.

"What's it say, Grim?" Billy asked excitedly as he tugged on Grim's robe. Mandy also looked curious.

Grim's eyes bulged after he finished reading the paper, "I'M BEING CHARGED WITH CHILD MOLESTATION!"

**Oh man, Grim's being charged with child molestation. What does this mean? It means frogman ran out of ideas and had to make up some stupid crap so the story would be longer. That's what it means. So, yeah…that's why the story is going to be rated T. Like I said earlier, I may be overreacting, but I think this story deserves the teen rating. Unless you don't find anything inappropriate about the Grim Reaper going to court for child molestation. If you don't think it is, well, you're entitled to your own opinion. **

**Why'd I do it? I came up with the idea quite some time ago and I thought it was at least somewhat humorous. In my opinion this story was the best place to put it. Anyway, this isn't the last chapter, you've probably already guessed that. I thought chapter nine would be much shorter than usual, but it turns out it isn't (which I think is a good thing). This story will be concluded with the next chapter.**

**HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA ONE MORE CHAP-TAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

**Thanks for reading.**


	10. The Grim Reaper on Trial

**This next chapter is the reason why I changed the story rating to T, so keep that in mind. I don't really know how long this chapter is going to be, but I have a feeling it's going to be _really _long. It might even turn out to be the longest chapter I've ever written. I can't say for sure. I also think it's the kind of chapter that you're either going to like a lot or hate with a passion. Anyway, almostinsane said in one of his reviews that this story "is getting stranger by the minute". Well, he was right, and now all that strangeness is going to culminate into this finale. I hope you enjoy it.**

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 10: The Grim Reaper on Trial

Two minotaurs marched over to Grim and pulled him towards the array of caverns in the distance. His screams echoed against the walls of rock that surrounded them as he was taken through the winding tunnel system.

"BUT I'M INNOCENT…INNOCENT!" He wailed. "TELL THESE GUYS I'M INNOCENT, BILLY!"

Billy didn't answer; he was being dragged by his nostrils by a minotaur a good distance behind Grim. Mandy was also in the custody of two body guards, though she had put up more of a fight before giving in.

They traveled further into the darkness, making a sharp turn every few seconds. The air got thinner and Grim stopped shouting. The minotaur's glowing red eyes allowed them to see perfectly in the pitch blackness and they always seemed to know what direction to go in. They were led through another long system of tunnels before arriving at two large wooden doors. The three captives were blinded by the light that broke through as one of the minotaurs pushed the doors open. When their eyes adjusted and their vision returned they found themselves standing inside the Underworld courtroom.

The minotaurs slammed the two doors shut behind them and took guard positions on each side of the exit, leaving Billy, Mandy and Grim to walk down the aisle on their own. The rows of seats they passed by were already filled with creatures and demons who all watched Grim as he made his way to the front. He kept his head held low as he sat down at a table on the right side of the room. Billy and Mandy took the other two seats at the end of the table, while the fourth seat was taken by Grim's lawyer, who had arrived earlier.

Grim's attorney was a snake (and by that I mean that Grim's lawyer was an actual snake. I know that a lot of people say that lawyers are like snakes, but this lawyer actually was one. He had fangs, a forked tongue, and one of those little rattle things on his tail. I didn't make this guy up either, he actually appears on the show. Seriously. You watch the show, you probably know what I'm talking about.) He wore a sleeveless suit and had an opened briefcase in front of him. He used his fangs to shuffle through the papers inside the case.

"So…do I have a chance of winning this thing?" Grim asked suddenly, causing the snake to jolt forward in surprise.

"Grim! I-I didn't see you…there…" He stammered, frantically rearranging the stack of papers in front of him. "I wouldn't get your hopes up…"

Grim swallowed hard and looked over his shoulder at the jury, who sat only a few feet away from him. All twelve jurors were creatures of the Underworld and none of them looked very friendly.

The bailiff of the court was a stout, lizard-like monster with large green scales and horns. The ground trembled with each of the creature's footsteps as he came out of a door in the back of the courtroom and turned towards the crowd.

"All rise for Judge Roy Spleen." The bailiff ordered.

Everyone stood up from their seats, with the exception of Mandy, as Judge Spleen entered the room and made his way towards his desk. He sat down in his seat, and everyone else did the same.

Spleen was a large, green monster with wart covered skin and sunken eyes positioned directly above his misshapen nose. He had a pair of horns on his head and a large mouth lined with jagged teeth, but the wig he wore on his head made him look more laughable than threatening. He was generally a harmless creature who appeared bored with his job most of the time.

The judge made himself comfortable in his seat as he grabbed his wooden gavel. He glanced at a piece of paper on his desk before officially beginning the trial.

"The case of The Underworld versus The Grim Reaper will now begin." He announced in a deep voice. "What are the charges against the defendant?"

The judge looked down towards the prosecutor's table on the opposite side of the room after he had finished speaking. Grim hadn't seen the prosecution lawyer when he had first walked in, so he lifted his head up to see who would be accusing him of being a child molester. He was stunned when he saw Hoss Delgado standing in front of the judge.

Hoss' normal uniform was replaced with a wrinkled three piece suit which, much like the snake's suit, had it's sleeves ripped off. The glasses he wore on his face and the leather briefcase he held in his hand were props he was using to make himself look more convincing as a lawyer. Hoss didn't need glasses, and the briefcase was probably empty.

"How can he be the prosecutor?" Grim shouted as he jumped out if chair.

"I have my law degree right here." Hoss said calmly as he lifted up a piece of paper with his name scribbled on it. "I cut it out from the back of a box of cereal."

Grim slowly returned to his seat without saying another word.

Hoss continued, "The prosecution charges the defendant with 13,957 counts of child molestation." Loud murmuring could be heard around the court right after he described the charges.

"That's just a random number!" Grim protested.

"Your honor, the defendant has been on Earth for thousands of years." Hoss said directly to Judge Spleen. "Who knows how many children were his victims?"

Grim rose to his feet again, "This is ridiculous! He's just making stuff up!"

The bailiff stepped forward and breathed a fire ball at Grim to stop his complaining. Grim stood there for a moment, his entire body singed to a blackened crisp, before sitting down once again.

Judge Spleen gave the bailiff on nod before looking back in Grim's direction, "How does the defendant plead?" He asked, hoping to end this trial as soon as possible.

Grim's lawyer almost fell out of his seat at the sound of the judge's voice. His body was shaking and sweat dripped down his skin as he approached the bench.

"Y-Your…um…your honor…the defendant is…" The snake began to stutter, pausing between almost every word. "The G-Grim Reaper…um….he uh, he pleads…."

It was obvious that he had no plan for defending Grim and he was too nervous to speak. He knew every one in the courtroom was watching him as he tried to put words together.

"I CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE!" He finally screamed before slithering out of the room as fast as he could.

The entire crowd was quiet as it shifted its attention from the fleeing snake lawyer to Judge Spleen, who looked just as confused as everyone else.

"Mr. Reaper, I suggest you find another lawyer within the next minute." The judge said after being silent for awhile.

"Billy, Mandy…you have to be my lawyers!" Grim urged, realizing that they were his only choices. "Get up there quick!"

"You can count on us, Grim!" Billy exclaimed as he jumped up on the table.

"Oh no, I'm not going up there." Mandy said stubbornly.

"Please Mandy, Billy's too stupid to do it alone!" Grim pleaded desperately. "I'll lose this case for sure!"

Mandy's reply was short, "That's unfortunate."

Grim gave a depressed sigh, "Just get up there, Billy…."

Billy hopped out of his seat and skipped up to the front, happy to help his best friend. Judge Spleen had to squint his eyes to get a better look at him as he approached the bench.

"Once again, how does the defendant plead?" The Judge asked dully.

"Ummmm, on his hands and knees?" Billy replied, a little unsure of his answer.

Grim smacked himself in the face while Mandy shook her head.

The judge stared at Billy in disbelief, "No, how does the defendant plead: 'guilty' or 'not guilty'?"

Billy struggled with the question as he thought about it for awhile, "Ooo! Ooo! Can we have recess? I wanna have recess!"

"GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY?" The judge bellowed as his wig fell to one side of his head

"Say 'not guilty', Billy!" Grim whispered loudly before Billy could give another stupid answer.

"Say not guilty Billy?" Billy repeated, trying to sound smug. "What you talkin' bout, Grim?"

"Not guilty!" Grim shouted, just as the Judge was about to get even angrier.

Judge Spleen calmed down and rearranged his wig, satisfied with Grim's answer. He gave Billy a dirty look and ordered him to sit down.

"Mr. Delgado, it's time for your opening statement." Spleen announced as Hoss walked towards the jury.

"The Grim reaper is a creature of pure evil and a menace to society." The prosecutor began, exchanging a glance with Grim. "His pedophilic tendencies know no bounds; he must be stop so the supple, young children of this planet will be able play without fear of this despicable monster." He looked pleased with himself as he finished his speech.

"Is that it?" The judge wondered; Hoss nodded 'yes' and returned to his table. "Alright, now it's your turn!" There was some malice in his voice as he pointed a long finger towards Billy.

"Yes, your majesty." Billy replied as he mimicked Hoss and walked up to the jury. "Grim may be an undead skeleton with an unlicensed weapon which he uses to tear people's souls out, but he's my best friend. He's the kindest person I can think of at the moment. Sometimes I even let him share the same bed with me!"

The sound of creatures gasping and muttering to each other could be heard immediately after Billy said that. Grim could only cringe and hope Billy was smart enough come up with an explanation (obviously, he wasn't smart enough).

"Is that all true, Billy?" The judge asked as he used his gavel to silence the gossiping crowd.

"I don't see what the problem is." Billy said quietly as he looked at the stunned faces around the room. "Most of the time I make Grim sleep on the floor or in a trash can, but in this one episode, me, Mandy, and Grim all slept in the same bed!"

Naturally, this got an even bigger reaction from the court. Grim slid down to the floor from his seat while Mandy rose from hers.

"I thought I told you _never_ to mention that episode again." She said harshly. Her face was red with anger (not embarrassment).

"That is unacceptable!" The Judge roared. "Go sit down, your opening statement is over."

Billy lowered his head and walked back towards Grim as Hoss rose to his feet.

"I call flatulent boy to the stand as my first witness." He said with a smirk.

Billy knew who Hoss was talking about him, so he walked back up to the judge and took a seat on the witness stand.

Hoss started asking questions the second Billy sat down, "On these sleepovers, did Grim ever try to do anything inappropriate or try to give you wine or some kind of alcoholic beverage?"

"Well…he did put horse tranquilizers in my orange juice once, but never any alco-mah-holic beverages." Billy replied.

"He never tried to give you 'Jesus juice'?"

At first Billy didn't say anything, then his face lit up, "I likes armpit juice!" He exclaimed.

Hoss was starting to lose his patience, but he managed to continue with the questions, "Does he every touch in a place that makes you feel uncomfortable?"

Billy expression change and he looked down as his shoes, "Sometimes." He said timidly.

Hoss was surprised by this answer and a smile came across his face. This trial was starting to go in the right direction for him.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Not very good…"

"Did you ever try to resist Grim?"

Billy looked up suddenly, "Grim? I thought we were talking about Principal Goodvibes!"

Silence consumed the courtroom as everyone stared awkwardly at Billy. Grim's eye sockets doubled in size and Mandy looked like she was about to go into a shock induced coma. Hoss stared at Billy's confused and frightened face.

"Get this kid out of here." He groaned as he signaled for the bailiff, who walked over to the stand, picked Billy up, and threw him back into his seat.

"Nice going, Billy." Mandy said sarcastically, apparently recovered from the initial shock of Billy's testimony.

Hoss' next witness was the small boy with the tricycle whose soul Grim had tried to steal. He was carried in by a giant minotaur and placed on the stand. His large eyes appeared to be bulging out of his head as he noticed the horrifying creatures all around him.

"Freakish little boy, isn't it true that you were riding your bike, minding your own business, when this sicko came up to you and said that he wanted to take you back to the Underworld with him?" Hoss asked as he pointed towards Grim.

"You got it all wrong!" Grim objected. "All I wanted to do was steal his putrid, little soul!"

There was angry murmuring from the crowd and jury, forcing Grim back into his seat.

"Is it true that the Reaper tried to abduct you?" Hoss continued.

The little boy was curled up in a ball on the stand and had tears flowing down his face. He shivered as Hoss stepped closer and looked down at him.

"Are you trying to start something, punk?" Hoss shouted in rage. "I don't have a problem with strangling a toddler!" He raised his metallic fist, making the boy curl up into an even tighter ball.

The judge intervened before Hoss made a bigger fool out of himself, "That's enough Mr. Delgado."

Hoss ignored the judge and let out some of his frustration by grabbing the small boy by his oversized head and flinging him into the crowd, where he landed in the arms of a tall demon.

"What am I supposed to do with this thing?" The demon asked as he looked down at the terrified child.

"I don't know…raise it as your own, or something." Hoss replied.

The demon smiled, revealing row upon row of sharp yellow teeth. The only sound that came from the boy was a small whimper as the demon carried his new 'son' out of the courtroom.

Hoss quickly rubbed his eyes before he called his next witness. The trial was far from other and he was already under a lot of stress.

"For my last witness I call the Grim Reaper to the stand." He announced melodramatically.

The moment every spectator in the court was waiting for had finally come; the Grim Reaper himself was about to be questioned at the stand.

Grim took his place next to the judge and looked straight ahead with a blank expression on his face. Meanwhile, Hoss paced back and forth, apparently thinking about what his first accusation against Grim should be.

"Mr. Child Molester…" He began as he strode right in front of Grim. "Do you mind if I call you 'Mr. Child Molester'?"

"Yes, I do." Grim replied in a low voice.

"Mr. Molester, aren't you a registered member of NAPLA?" Hoss inquired, ignoring Grim's first response.

"NAPLA? What the heck is that?"

"The **N**orth **A**merican **P**edophile **L**ove **A**ssociation, though I'm sure you already know that."

"That's not true, I've never heard of that organization before!"

"Then why do you have a NAPLA pin on your robe?" Hoss pointed to a large blue pin that had suddenly appeared on Grim's robe. It had 'NAPLA' printed on it in bold yellow letters.

"W-What the…" Grim stammered. "I've never seen this pin before, you just stuck it on me a second ago!"

"No I didn't."

"I just saw you do it! You pinned it to my robe!"

"Did I? Or was it there the whole time?" Hoss retorted, trying to be clever.

Grim looked up to complain to Judge Spleen, "Judge, this guys a complete idiot. He doesn't even know what he's talking about!"

"I'll allow it." Judge Spleen answered without even looking at Grim. He wore a bored expression as he inspected his long finger nails.

Hoss got right back into the interrogation, "Why don't you explain to the court the reasons why you call Billy and Mandy your 'love slaves'."

"They're my '_friend slaves'_, not my-"

Hoss interrupted, "How many times do you molest them a day? Two times? Four times? Ten times?"

"I've never down anything like that!"

"Whatever you say, Reaper. I bet now you're gonna try to convince us that you've never forced Billy and Mandy to fornicate and then video taped it, aren't you?"

Mandy eyes widened, then her teeth clenched together and her fists tightened. It appeared as if every one of her blood vessels was about to explode as sweat poured down her bright red face. She started to breath deeply as she walked slowly towards the front of the room. Neither Billy nor Grim had ever seen her this enraged before; she looked at Hoss like she wanted kill him as violently as possible. Hoss just stood there, not sure how to react. It took up the ten body guards just to restrain Mandy and get her back in her seat.

Billy was much more calm. He had a perplexed expression on his face as he wondered what 'fornicate' meant.

Grim had been distracted by the spectacle of Mandy getting mauled by giant minotaur body guards (which he found somewhat humorous and uplifting), but he eventually regained his concentration, "What kind of Reaper do you think I am? That's just plain disgusting!"

"Permission to treat this witness as hostile?" Hoss asked the judge as he attached a large cannon to his hand.

"Permission granted." Judge Spleen answered back as he tried to remove a hangnail.

Hoss pointed the cannon at Grim's face and fired a current of green slime that covered his body and splattered against the wall. Grim choked on the slime as he frantically tried to clean it out of his skull. H e managed to get it out his mouth and eye sockets, but most of it still clung to his robe.

"I'm through with this scumbag." Hoss said as he took off the slime cannon and sat down.

The First half of the most horrible trial imaginable had come to close.

**Okay, Okay, Okay. I _really _didn't want to do this, but I have split this chapter into two parts. Otherwise it would have simply been too freaking long. So that's why the chapter ends kind of abruptly. This chapter is only half way done, so I think you can imagine how huge this would have been if I hadn't cut it in half. So yeah, I hope to get part two out as soon as possible so this story can finally be finished.**


	11. The Verdict

**The time has come for the final chapter…**

**Once again, this was meant to be part of chapter 10, but it didn't work out the way I had planned. This is the _actual _last chapter; Have fun. **

A Grim Apprenticeship 

Chapter 11: The Verdict

Grim left behind a trail of green as he left the stand and trudged back to his own table.

"You really proved your innocence with that display." Mandy said insultingly. She had some cuts and bruises from her fight with the guards, but she had calmed down considerably since then.

"Shut your face." Grim said with a scowl, not even bothering to wipe himself off anymore.

Billy stared at Grim and licked his lips, "I can help you get that slime off, Grim!" He suggested.

"Get away from me!" Grim shouted as he slapped Billy across the head.

"Billy, it is the defense's turn to show its witnesses." The judge ordered.

Billy tried to looked professional as he approached the stand. He quickly adjusted the clothes-pins that kept his shoe laces tied together and tucked his shirt into his pants.

"As my first witness I call Mandy to the stand." He said, trying to sound as serious as he could.

"I already told you, I'm not going up there." Mandy answered sharply.

Billy knelt down on the floor as if he were praying, "Ya gotta help me out, Mandy."

"I'd rather sit here and make short cynical comments while you and Grim humiliate yourselves." She replied.

"PUH-LEEEASE, MANDY!" Billy cried.

Mandy looked in the opposite direction and ignored him as if he didn't exist.

"You will be held in contempt of court if you don't come to the stand!" The judge warned.

"Wow, contempt of court." Mandy said in mock fear. "I'm so afraid…"

She turned her head to the side to see a spearhead pointed directly in front of her nose (or where her nose would have been if she had one). The opposite end of the spear was held by a minotaur guard, who grunted something inaudible as he motioned for her to move up to the stand.

Mandy muttered something back to the minotaur, but it was also inaudible. She reluctantly allowed the guard to escort her to stand, which she climbed up on (with some more 'help' from the guard). She crossed her arms across her chest after she had seated herself, a cold and angry stare on her face.

"What was your name again, miss?" Billy asked as he approached the witness.

Mandy gave a low growl, but she didn't answer.

Billy didn't seem to mind, "Young lady, how would you describe your relationship with the 'offendant'?"

"What is there to describe?" She replied in monotone voice. "He's a good-for-nothing coward who probably couldn't be a child molester even if he tried."

"And how would you feel if Grim were ever taken away?"

"I wouldn't really care."

Hoss interrupted Billy's questioning by punting him into the wall as he ran up to the witness stand.

"I'd like to cross-examine fish woman, if you don't mind." He asked as he looked at Billy, who was flattened against the plaster wall. Judge Spleen had no objection to this.

Hoss pulled out a toy doll and shoved it in front of Mandy, "Do you know what this is?"

"It looks like a plastic doll." She answered, becoming more annoyed with Hoss every time he spoke, especially after he called her 'fish woman'.

"Actually it's made of rubber, but that's not the point." Hoss corrected. "The point of is, I want you to use this baby doll to show me where Grim touched you."

"Excuse me?" Mandy shot back.

"Was it here, or here?" Hoss wondered as he pointed to the doll's hand, then to it's head. "Or perhaps, was it down here?" He placed his finger on the doll's belly button and slowly moved it down to, um…that region between a female's legs. I forget what its called.

Mandy smacked the doll out of Hoss' hand and left the stand, "I'm outta here." Meanwhile, Billy pulled his nose out of the wall and stumbled over to Grim.

The bailiff stepped forward to stop Mandy as she moved back to the defendant's table, but she glared at him and he quickly backed away.

"Your next witness, please…" Judge Spleen said quietly as he popped some migraine pills into his mouth.

Billy was already asleep; his head rested on the table and a puddle of drool was forming underneath his mouth.

"YOUR NEXT WITNESS, BILLY!" The judge hollered, though Billy continued to snore.

"Wake up!" Grim shouted as he shoved Billy onto to the floor in a splash of his own drool.

"MANDY, I DON'T THINK TYING YOUR BABY COUSIN TO A FIREWORK IS A VERY GOOD IDEA!" Billy exclaimed with a panicked expression the moment he woke up. "What's going on?" He asked in confusion after he realized his flashback was over.

"Billy, bring up your second witness…" The judge said in a unsteady voice. He would have screamed, but the pills he had taken were making him drowsy.

The big-nosed lawyer scurried to his feet and wiped the remaining drool off his mouth.

"My next witness is GRIM'S MEAN OL' DAD!" He shouted as he pointed to the door.

"Daddy?" Grim said weakly as the doors of the courtroom opened and his father was brought down the aisle.

"Where am I?" Grim's dad asked irately. "What did my idiot son do now?" He looked strikingly similar to Grim, except he didn't wear a robe and his age, which was in the tens of thousands, was starting to show.

"Old man Reaper." Billy addressed the elderly skeleton as he was brought to his seat. "Do you know why you're here?"

Grim's dad looked at the judge as he pointed a slim finger at Billy, "Who the hell is that freak of nature?"

Billy ignored the comment and asked his next question, "Do believe that your sweet and gentle son is even capable of something like child molestation?"

"My son has never been capable of doing anything." He began. "He's always been a failure."

Grim had his fingers imbedded in the table as he tried to hold back tears. Mandy said something under her breath about him being 'pathetic'.

"Though now that you mention it, my son probably is a child molester." He added after giving it some thought. "I hope he rots in prison."

Billy didn't ask anymore questions, instead he just stared at Grim's negligent father. Everyone else in the room did the same thing and there was silence for quite some time.

"Can I go now?" Grim's dad asked impatiently.

Judge Spleen had a delayed reaction to this request, "Ummmm, sure, Mr. Reaper. You can leave now."

"Finally." He said as he left the stand and went immediately towards the doors he had entered from.

"Bye, Daddy!" Grim shouted as he tried to force a smile. "I'll see you at Christmas, right?"

Grim's dad didn't answer as he passed right by his only son. He was grumbling something to himself the entire way to the door. Grim tried to keep his eyes from overflowing as he watched him leave the courtroom. After the doors slammed shut, Grim covered his face and began to sob.

"That was depressing." The judge said with a sigh. "Are you finished, Billy?"

"Not quite, talking pickle man." Billy replied. "I gots a surprise witness: some guy I found off the street!"

Everybody looked anxiously down the aisle as the final witness was brought up to the front. He was a strange looking character, with a smell that even the demons and creatures found repulsive. His mass of dark gray hair wrapped around his head to form an unkempt beard on his face and a grouping of large dreadlocks on the top of his head. His pot belly stuck out of the bottom of his shirt which, like the rest of clothing, hadn't been washed in years. His eyes had an irregular shape and were both different sizes, giving him a crazed look.

"I gotta stop drinking" He said to himself as he stood in front of the judge.

The man glanced around the room, stopping every once in a while if he saw something that looked particularly unusual. Grim wondered how somebody like this could possibly help his case.

"Crazy looking random guy whose name I don't know, do _you_ know Grim personally?" Billy asked.

The man narrowed his eyes to get a better look at the defendant before he gave his answer, "That pasty guy over there without a nose? I thought he was in jail!"

For some reason, Billy thought this surprise witness was going to be more helpful. Since he wasn't, Billy wasn't sure what to do, so he tapped the ground with his foot before sticking a finger up his nose.

"This is just like that nightmare I'm always having, except with less naked people." The man said absentmindedly as he studied his new surroundings for a second time. He started to look paranoid when he noticed that everyone was looking back at him in stunned silence (this court case has a lot of awkward silences).

Grim began to smash his skull repeatedly against the table, while Mandy stared at the witness with a look of disgust.

"Get this guy out of my courtroom." The judge demanded. "I've seen enough of this nonsense."

"Hey, where are we going?" The witness asked as more bodyguards came to take him away. "Can we go to the IHOP? I'm really hungry all of a sudden."

Shortly after the man was dragged out of the courtroom, there was a flash of bright light coming from the opposite side of the door accompanied by a piercing scream. The body guards reentered the room, but Billy's surprise witness was no longer with them.

"I don't think we need to see anymore of this." The judge said before addressing the bailiff. "Please escort the jury to the back room so they can make their decision."

The twelve jurors all stood up, anxious to get out of their seats. They followed the bailiff towards the room where they would make their verdict, but one of the jurors stopped in front of the door and turned around.

"Hey, where's Fred Fredburger?" He wondered.

Judge Spleen pretended to look surprised, "You mean he's not here? Oh, he must have gotten stuck in traffic or had a bomb put in his mail box, that's too bad. I guess we'll just have to continue without him." He smiled uncontrollably at his own words (sorry Insane Guy of DOOM and captain deoxys :( ).

With the jury gone, all Grim could do was wait and hope that the jurors would have pity on him, though he quickly convinced himself that none of them would feel that way. He was going to lose the case, without a doubt.

"I can't go to jail, do you know what they'd do to me?" Grim didn't want to think about it, but it was impossible not to.

"Yeah, they'd mop the floor with you." Mandy replied unsympathetically.

"Don't worry, Grim!" Billy exclaimed as he tried to give him a comforting pat on the back. "We'll come visit you!"

"Speak for yourself." Mandy added with bitterness.

Half an hour had gone by when the bailiff opened the door of the jury room and stepped out, "It's a hung jury, your honor." He announced.

"They couldn't make a decision?" The judge asked in astonishment.

"No, I mean they all hung themselves." The bailiff explained. "They just couldn't take it anymore."

"I guess that means I have to give the verdict." The judge decided. The last thing he wanted was a mistrial.

Grim closed his eye sockets and waited for the sentence with dread.

The boredom in Judge Spleen's voice was gone as he prepared to end the trial, "I do not believe that it is appropriate for the Grim Reaper to live with these two little boys-"

He was interrupted by the bailiff, who whispered something into his ear.

"What? The blonde one is a girl?" He shouted after the bailiff finished speaking.

The judge stepped down from his desk to get a better look at Mandy, who obviously wasn't happy with the judge for making a mistake like that.

"Whoa, good luck with that, kid." He said in a low voice as he turned back to his chair. "Anyway, back to my verdict: I don't believe that the Grim Reaper should-"

The Judge paused for a moment to look back at Mandy.

"Seriously, is that a girl?" He blurted out, asking anybody in the courtroom who could give him an answer. "Because there is nothing feminine about that kid. And what's wrong with her friend? His nose is bigger than his entire body!"

The creatures in the crowd all looked at each other in puzzlement as the judge continued to babble. Hoss glanced down at his wristwatch, then stood up impatiently.

"Honestly though, those must be the ugliest kids I've every seen." Spleen continued. "I can only wonder how they'll ever get dates when they're older. It's a good thing they know each other, otherwise they'd die lonely."

Grim saw this as an opportunity to go reason with Hoss. He told Billy and Mandy that he had a plan and that they should both move slowly towards the exit and wait for him.

Billy nodded with a smile, but Mandy wasn't listening. She had been getting increasingly angry as Judge Spleen went on with his tirade and was approaching the judge's desk with a sharp pen in her right hand. Billy pulled her away with some difficulty and brought her down the aisle to the wooden doors, where Grim had told them to wait.

"Hoss, you have to end this." Grim begged as he approached the prosecutor. "You have to drop the charges against me!"

"I'd never let a sick freak like you escape justice." Hoss replied dramatically. "Unless….you have enough cash for a settlement." He added.

Grim didn't have any money, but he had the next best thing (assuming that his plan worked). He pulled out a folded piece of paper and dangled it in front of Hoss' face.

Hoss' eyes widened and he was little short of breath, "Is…is that what I think it is?"

Grim smiled for the first time in a while, "Yep, it's that photo you were looking for." He replied. Hoss had humiliated him throughout the entire case, but now Grim had him at his mercy.

"Give me that thing!" Hoss shouted as he tried to grab the paper.

"No, no, no." Grim said as he pulled the paper away from Hoss' outstretched hand. "First, we have to negotiate."

"What do you want?" Hoss groaned, though he already knew the answer to that question.

"I want you to drop all the charges against me, then I want you to stand in front of the entire court and say that I'm not, nor was I ever, a child molester." Grim smiled again as he finished his proposal.

"Whatever, just give me that picture!" Hoss roared as Grim stuffed it into his hand.

"Oh yeah, baby." Hoss whispered softly. "You're back with me now."

He began to unfold the paper as Grim backed up slowly towards Billy and Mandy, who were watching from the other end of the room.

"Wait a second…THIS IS A COUPON FOR MAYONNAISE!" Hoss bellowed.

Now it was Grim's turn to scream, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" He sprinted towards the door and pushed Billy, Mandy, and himself through it before the bodyguards could intervene.

The trio could hear Hoss' frantic footsteps behind them as they traveled down the dark tunnel. Grim realized that none of them could outrun the spectral exterminator, so he summoned for his scythe and quickly ripped a portal open.

Hoss let out a piercing battle cry as he lunged towards the portal, which vanished before he could reach it. His impact with the ground was enough to knock him unconscious, as well as knock a few teeth out.

Back in the courtroom, Judge Spleen's rant was over and he had just realized that neither the prosecutor nor the defendant were present.

"Where did they run off to?" He asked, relieved that the trial was finally over.

"Hoss went to get an old photo of him when he was younger." The bailiff replied.

"Hmmmm, I think he's going to have a hard time finding that." The judge said as he pulled out a small photograph. He looked at it, gave a small chuckle, then slipped it back into his robe.

* * *

It was early evening in Endsville; the town had recovered from the 'reaper incident' and business was as usual. At least it was until a giant portal appeared in the middle of the sidewalk and the Grim Reaper stepped out with two children. 

Grim, Mandy and Billy all stood up and looked at each other. Everything was back to the way it used to be. They started to walk home, but neither one of them said anything. The suburbs of Endsville stretched out in front of them after they had gone a few blocks.

Billy and Mandy's houses were already visible when Grim broke the silence, "I get the part about you two becoming reapers while I'm sick, the part about you two stealing my job, and the part about me having to get my job back…" He began. "But the one thing I don't understand is the part about the child molestation trial."

Both kids looked up at him as he paused for a moment.

"I mean, you two must have killed at least a dozen people while you were reapers, and I'm the one who goes to court?" He was starting to get angry just thinking about it. "That was the most random, most idiotic thing I've ever seen in my life! Nothing in that court scene made sense! Why couldn't we have just gone home after I got my powers back and had some ice cream? What's wrong with that ending? Why does everything bad always have to happen to me?"

Grim continued to talk, unaware that Billy and Mandy were already walking far ahead of him.

"Hey, come one now!" He screamed. "You guys….wait for me!"

Grim ran down the sidewalk after his 'best friends' as the sun began to set over the city.

THE END

**YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!**

**Alright, that's my second story. I should probably have a lot of regrets about this story, but I only have one: I wish I had been able to get the entire court scene into one chapter. I think the story would have flowed much better if it had all been together in one document. The horrible truth is, people would have lost interest in the chapter before they got half way into it if it were that long. There was really nothing I could do. There's actually one more thing that bothers me. I recently watched a rerun of _Keeper of the Reaper _and the characters in the Underworld court are a little different from mine. For example, the bailiff is giant fly and there's a octopus stenographer. And apparently the snake lawyer actually does have arms, which doesn't make any sense. But it doesn't really matter anyway.**

**(going for the record for longest authors notes ever.)**

**Obviously, Fred Fredburger isn't in this story. Yes, I know. It's an abomination. I know some people wanted me to put him in here and I can't blame them. Fred Fredburger is a popular character who anyone would expect to appear in a fanfic involving the Underworld court. Sadly, he isn't in this one and I have no intention of including him in any of my future stories (oh yes, there will be more). I used to find Fred more annoying than funny, but I've gained some respect for the little guy over the past few months. I actually considered putting him into the story somehow, but it was a last minute sort of thing and it just didn't seem to fit. So, sorry for crushing your hopes and dreams. I shall make amends: Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger Fred Fredburger YES! Are you happy now? WHAT MORE DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME?**

**Response to Endsville's review: I'll be honest, I burst out laughing when I saw that you almost screamed when you read that part of the chapter :) . I thought I would have to write _at least _three stories before I got someone to react that way. I know I've done at least one thing right if my story almost made someone scream. Bizarre is always good. Anyway, thank you for the review, but I especially thank you for reviewing Mandy's Addiction. I always like it when people review that story even though its already been completed for awhile. **

**(btw, if there are a lot of misspellings its because my spell checker decided it didn't want to work anymore.)**

**Ok, time to wrap this up: I thank ever single person who read or reviewed this story. More than twenty reviews is more than satisfying for me and I really appreciate it. As for my next story, well….I wanted to get at least the first chapter of my third story submitted before summer ends, but I'm not sure if that will happen. I haven't even made a rough draft of the plot and believe me, the plot needs a lot of work. Plus, I want to take a little break from writing. I'll keep an update on the progress of my next story in my profile (yeah right).**

**Once again, thank you all (did I break the record?) **

**I say we go wit a little RIBBIT.**


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